Ranma Saotome and the Sorcerer's Stone
by Ninja Penguin Princess
Summary: 11 year old Ranma Saotome discovers that his parents are magical, he is a wizard, and he is set to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What's this about a stone? And a map? Set to span all harry Potter books-Hogwarts will never be the same!
1. Chapter 1: Confessions and Mothers

Okay, we hope this is good! Mostly me...as I wrote this chapter mostly...due to someone being late...*Cough, Cough* NINJA PENGUIN PRINCE *Cough, cough*

Oh! Ranma's slightly smarter and more eager to learn...Sorry but I really thought he would be more eager as he doesn't know that much and is _**eleven**_. And the rest of the chapters will be longer than this one, I promise.

Full summary:

11 year old Ranma Saotome discovers that his parents are magical, he is a wizard, and he is set to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain! What's this about a stone? And a map of some sort? Watch as the Nermia crew invades Hogwarts! Set to span all harry Potter books- With Ranma there- Hogwarts will never be the same! Pairings haven't been decided but will have some slash in later books, if you don't like rest assured- most of the pairings are going to be Heterosexual.

...The screen fades to black when a message appears:

**_In no way, form, area, or anyway do we own Ranma 1/2 or Harry Potter. We are just fans who enjoy making it go our way. Without further a due, You're featured presentation:_**

* * *

Ninja Penguin Princess and Prince, of Ninja Penguin Royalty Productions, are Proud to Present:

An original Ninja Penguin Fan-fiction:

**_Ranma Saotome and The Sorcerer's__ Stone:_**

**_Chapter One_**: **_Confessions and Mothers_**

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Ranma Saotome sighed as he walked down the muggy road. There were puddles everywhere, indicating that it had rained recently. He tossed his pack to his bald father, who took out their last water bottle and drained half of it, making his son kick him so hard he nearly spilled the bottle. The short, black haired-preteen was exhausted. Why, you might ask. Because instead of getting plane tickets to China and back- they had to _**swim**_ there.

"Yo, Pops?" The electric blue eyed boy said, looking up at his _**bald old**_ man "Where we goin'?" Ranma hated the way his father didn't talk about things often...that's what got them in this _**situation**_ in the first place.

Genma Saotome just frowned at his son and crossed his arms "Nowhere you need to know," Under his sons glare he continued "But, we're going to see about the curses."

Ranma just stared at his old man, _"Is he Senile?"_ He thought to himself as he glanced at his father "Pops...The man said no-one could fix this, not even Nanichaun! You'll be a half-panda freak and I'll be a hermaphrodite!"

Genma kicked his son hard in the stomach "Stop _**whining **_boy! You're starting to sound like a _girl_."

"Yeah, Yeah...whatever." Ranma said, mostly used to it. He then began screaming profanities at a car that drove by, splashing him alone with Ice cold water. He glared at his father as the water covered him, his hair turning red, his eyes gaining mascara and purple eyeliner than wouldn't come off, his legs free of all hair, him getting a more 'innocent' face than he had and his skin a lighter color, and his breasts already an large size for an eleven year old. Not to mention Ranma losing a few inches in height. Oh, and the fact that he's now a soaking wet 'she'.

"Ugh!" She shivered and moaned at the same time, flinging water off of her clothes and nearly onto her laughing father, who backed away several feet.

"Watch it, Boy!" The martial artist grunted, making his son-daughter?- scowl as she tried to get dry and began walking in the way they had.

"How much farther?" She whined, shivering again as it was a cold night in August, with a chilling wind sweeping the area.

"We're here." Genma stopped in front of a house that was medium sized, it's garden looked really nice and had every flower Ranma had ever seen. It was a light blue house with white shutters and bushes in front of the house on either side of the door, further inspection showed that they were rose bushes.

Genma walked up to the house and knocked as Ranma read the door.

_Saotome Residence:_

_Nadoka Saotome: Cert. Ptns Mast. _

_7:00 A.M/9:00 P.M_

_"Certified what?" _Ranma thought as she read the only abbreviation he knew on there. She only knew that one because her father had taken her to a Certified healer...which she took to mean as doctor. The rest didn't really sink in. Ranma was currently aware her father was edging toward the end of the doorstop.

Suddenly a woman with short purple/red hair peered out the door and stopped when she saw the old man, doing a double take and letting out a small gasp. She had pale skin, big brown eyes, short but beautiful purple/red hair that was unlike any color Ranma had seen. She was a little shorter than Genma but was a whole lot skinnier.

"G-Genma?" She said, her voice ringing through the silent night like bells. Ranma decided then and there that she liked this girl, and that she knew her from somewhere...

Her father, however, decided he didn't like her and edged away even more. "Why, Hello Nodoka dear." He said in a guilty voice and looked as if he was regretting coming here. "Nice to see you, well, here's Ranma but I really have to go-"

The woman's, Nodoka's, eyes flared up in rage and she pounced on Genma. "Why, Hello," She said in a threatening voice that made Ranma respect her even more as she stepped to the side and let the woman work her 'Magic' "Genma _dear_ long time no see."

Nodoka then kicked Genma in his groin and stood up, holding his arm in a death grip. Genma went pale and looked at Ranma

"Ranma! _HEEELP_!" He screeched as Nodoka gave him an evil smile.

"Nope." Ranma said, popping the 'P' "You dug your grave, Old man, now lie in it." If looks could kill Ranma would be dead. Then she would be resurrected and killed again.

"Wait," Nodoka said, freezing in place and shifting her look to Ranma, who held up her hands in the ever truthful _'Surrender don't kill me please!'_ gesture. "R-Ranma? But Ranma's a boy...That's a- That's a..."

Genma decided to but in here "I can explain!" Nodoka looked at Genma and he withered under her glare.

Ranma decided that she was too cold to be in the open and wanted in so she said "I'll explain Pop's." She ignored her father shaking his head back and forth furiously and said "I was cursed by Jusenkyou during a training trip Ma'am-"

Nodoka's eyes filled with rage "**YOU TOOK **_**MY **__BABY_ **TO **_**JUESNKYOU**__**!**__" _She bellowed in rage, dragging Genma up too the house but not in.

"It was a mistake!" Genma tried, his blue eyes that were almost the electric blue of his son's but had dulled to a grey-blue glancing up at Nodoka, begging for forgiveness. Ranma just watched with an amused expression on her face. "I didn't know we'd get cursed-"

That just made the purple-haired woman madder "_**ANY**_ self respecting wizard knows not to go to _**JUSENKYOU**_- wait a minute.." A smirk developed over Nodoka's face, her eyes lighting up with amusement. "You said 'We' what do you turn into, Genma _**darling**_." She spat the last word in a insult, Ranma couldn't really blame her-maybe her Pop's dated this lady, or she was _his_ fiancée for a change. Ukyo forgave him but...

"A panda..." Genma choked out.

"Suits you well." Nodoka smirked. Genma opened his mouth to protest, but Ranma said

"Yo, Pop's. This ladies cool and all but can we fix our curses now? I wanna find a place to camp soon." Nodoka's face lit up with even more anger.

"HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO I AM!" Ranma's eyes lit up in confusion and fear- sure this woman is cool but she didn't want a _older woman_ as a fiancée!

"Oops?" Genma said quietly. Nodoka's face went as red as Ranma's hair with anger.

"Oops is right you Old-" She hit Genma really hard as she punctuated each word "Fat- smelly- evil- pompous- greedy- self centered- _**BASTARD**_!" She kicked Genma into the house and he hit a wall. Her walls were cement and had were a green color, her living room had a TV and a large couch with a bookshelf in the corner.

Nodoka stuck her head out and said "You coming, Ranma?" Ranma nodded eagerly and went into the house, being able to see it all now. It was nearly five times the size of the outside and was beautiful! A large wood staircase led to a huge upstairs. There was a door Ranma was sure led to a basement of some kind.

Nodoka walked over to Genma, after shutting the door, and banged his head threw a door, leaving the poor man unconscious.

Ranma looked at Nodoka with awe "That was _AMAZING_! I've never seen a girl do that before, who _**are**_ you!"

Nodoka looked at Ranma and said, rather bluntly "I'm you Mother." Ranma looked at the lady in shock and knew right then why she looked so familiar...she was Ranma's _**mom**_!

"M-Mom?" Ranma said and was enveloped in a hug, which she returned enthusiastically.

"Oh, Ranma! I thought I wouldn't see you again! You're father was supposed to bring you back when you turned eight!" She guided Ranma to a couch and gave her a towel, sitting down beside her.

"What- why? Why did I even leave, why did I have to leave?" Ranma asked, questions flooding her mind.

"Your father took you from me when you were a year old, he said he had to train you so you could fight against..Voldemort one day, if Voldemort came back- as your father said 'When he comes back'."

Ranma was utterly confused "Whose Voldemort?"

Nodoka looked extremely shocked but managed to cover it up "An evil wizard, who has done many bad things- I'll explain more later just don't say his name in public. If you have to refer to him at all say 'He who must not be named' or 'You know who' some people even refer to him as 'The dark Lord'."

"People are that scared? _"Did she just say Wizard, I must have imagined it...I've spent too much time around Pop's" _Ranma thought then shook her head.

"I told Genma to have you back when you were eight so I could begin to prepare you for when you turned eleven."

Ranma was confused again, which made her a little mad-her Pops really had held out on her! "Why? What's so important about me turning Eleven?"

Nodoka's eyes filled with shock and anger "Ranma...You don't know, sweetie?"

Ranma shook her head "Know what?"

Nodoka just frowned at Genma and turned back to her female-son "Ranma, I hate to do this but I'm going to be blunt. You're a wizard."

Ranma looked at her mother is disbelief "I'm a..."

Nodoka smiled at her son-well.. currently daughter, "A wizard Ranma...well when you're a girl a witch, like me. Anyway, You're father is lucky that he brought you back in time for us to apparate to England."

Ranma glanced at her mother in confusion "England? Why? And what's apparating!"

Nodoka got a far-off look in her face and smiled dreamily "That's where you'll be going to school, at least where you'll catch the train. And where we get your supplies... Apparating is a magical form of travel, dear."

Ranma squinted her eyebrows- she hated for people to know stuff she didn't, almost as much as she hated the fact she was a girl right now-why did she have to be a girl when she met her mother! "What train, where am I going to school? Supplies?" Ranma knew she sounded like and idiot but...she can't help it, It's a whole new concept to her!

Nodoka just smiled again "You're supplies for school dear, your wand and robes, books and more...The school where I went, the most famous and best magical school there is...Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

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I hate to leave it there but I am updating the next chapter soon and it's going to have...alot of stuff from apparating to England, getting a letter, and Diagon Alley.


	2. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley and Kitty's

Hi guys, I got my inspiration from someone else to write this (more in my profile) and I've been working hard on this, can you say "All nighter?"

Ninja Penguin Prince: All nighter!

Princess: Quiet you! You actually did your half (and part of mine... -.- jerk) of the work this time, I stayed up until after midnight days and days working on this!

Ninja Prince: I'm sorry, I would have sent it earlier but I got caught up in the beach.

Ninja Princess: You had it done earlier!

Prince: Nooo...Okay, maybe.

Princess: *Bursts into tears* do you have any idea how long I spent working on this! I was working on this _**before**_ the first chapter came out!

Prince: Oh...You really need some sleep, this is a lot of words.

Princess: *snore*

Prince: Ugh...We do not own Ranma 1/2 or Harry Potter, they are property of Rumiko Takashi and J.K Rowling. Oh, and when you see a _*****_Blah blah talk example_*****_ with the icons on the end that means that they are specking in Japanese and the rest are speaking in English. When You **!**Blah Blah talk Example **! **It's English while everyone else is speaking Japanese, that doesn't happen often though.

* * *

Ninja Penguin Princess and Prince, of Ninja Penguin Royalty Productions, are Proud to Present:

_**An original Ninja Penguin Fan-fiction:**_

_**Ranma Saotome and The Sorcerer's Stone:**_

**Chapter two: Diagon Alley and Kitty's**

* * *

Ranma just looked at her mother in shock, Nodoka not seeming shocked or bothered by what she just revealed, stood up and walked to the kitchen. As she had been fighting with Genma, her kitchen had become soaking wet (maybe she had been making tea, or soup?) and there were several broken things, the door to the kitchen to be more precise. Ranma could see almost all of the kitchen through the broken door. Nodoka smiled at Ranma, held up a hand, and got out a stick that was really long and a black color, with a squiggly shape at the end.

Ranma watched in amazement as her mother flicked her wrist muttered something that sounded like "_Scourgify!_" The kitchen was relativity clean then, making Ranma gasp. Nodoka just flicked her wand again and the broken pieces fixed themselves.

A few more flicks of the wand, for that was what Ranma was sure it was, and the kitchen was normal once more. Nodoka walked over to Ranma and waved the wand over her head. Hot water flowed over her, turning Ranma, once again, into a boy. Another flick and Ranma felt a miraculously warm breeze flow over him, rendering him as dry as the rest of the house. "Thanks." he said, looking at her in awe. She saw his expression and smiled.

"It's nothing, dear. Before long, you'll be doing this without even thinking about it." she said.

"But I can't do any magic, I never have." said Ranma.

"Oh, of course you can. You're my son, after all." she said. "You just need some training, that's all. And you most likely have, accidental magic and all."

The thought of doing magic excited him. "You're gonna teach me?" he asked eagerly, forgetting what she had said earlier.

"Me? Oh no, that's what magic school is for." she said. "You'll be heading out to Hogwarts soon, we need to get you to England sometime tomorrow."

_"Hogwarts is an odd name for an school." _Ranma thought _"It doesn't sound Japanese at all, sounds more like a prank school then anything. Not that I wouldn't mind going to a prank school..." _ "Isn't it here in Tokyo?"

"No, dear, it is in Great Britain."

Now that Ranma had thought about it, she had said something along the lines of it being in England before..."That sure is far away." he said. "Is it the only magic school?"

"No, there are many all over the world . There is one in Japan, but they only except a few students and year, the rest go where they like."

"Also, I'm...well, not exactly on good terms with the headmaster of that school. The man really is xenophobic, and he's insanely jealous of Dumbledore..."

"Who's Dumbledore?"

"He's Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. Most wizards, even Japanese wizards, say he's probably the greatest wizard of the age. Oh!" she exclaimed. "I forgot, I need to send an owl to Dumbledore about you."

"An...owl?" asked Ranma uncertainly, _"Why would she send him an owl?_" He thought, biting his lip.

"Oh yes, owl post. Like the muggle mail system, but owls carry the letters. And, I might add, it's much more reliable than the muggle postman, almost never lose or damage the post." Nodoka replied, walking back into the kitchen and putting a pot of water on the stove.

"But how do the owls know where to go? Are they some kind of specially trained owls?" Ranma had seen a movie once where the American CIA trained pigeons to deliver war codes and messages, he guessed it would be relitivley like that.

"No no, they need no special training. Owls are actually quite intelligent and have been companions of wizards for centuries. They have excellent directional sense and they can find almost anyone. That is, if they wish to be found." she replied. As she spoke, she drew her wand out of her robes and waved it, conjuring a bottle of ink, a feather quill, and a piece of thick yellow paper, sitting down on the couch once more.

"So...you're sending an owl all the way to England? Isn't that kinda far for an owl to fly?" said Ranma, surprised and delighted to see his mother work more magic.

"Oh no, Kyoko will be fine." Nodoka replied absently as she scratched out the letter. Ranma went silent, not wanting to disturb her as she wrote. After several minutes she stopped, held the paper up to read over and, seemingly satisfied with the letter, rolled and tied it up and said: "Alright, that ought to do nicely. Starr, please fetch Kyoko."

Ranma was about to ask who she was talking to before the answer literally appeared before his eyes. A loud crack made him jump in his seat and, next to the couch, where before there had been air, now stood a short, brown creature dressed in a bright red towel, and holding, on it's right arm, a magnificent brown and black eagle owl.

The creature bowed slightly and held the owl forward while Nodoka attached the letter to the owl's outstretched leg. "Please deliver this to Albus Dumbledore as soon as possible. But please, this time, don't overdo yourself, ok?"

The owl clicked it's beak and nodded. "Starr, please go set her off."

"Yes, Nodoka-sama." the creature said and, with another crack, disappeared with the owl.

Ranma was staring at the empty space recently vacated by the creature, his mouth hanging open as he tried to wrap his brain around what he had just seen. Nodoka chuckled softly at his astonishment, which roused him from his stupor. "What...what was that?"

"I'm so sorry, Ranma-kun, I didn't think to tell you about Starr." she said apologetically. "Starr is our house-elf. She helps me keep this house in order. She is recently new, I hired her mother after your father left and when her mother died, the poor dear, she started taking over. I'll introduce you." Nodoka then snapped her fingers.

Another crack, and Starr had returned to the kitchen. This time, the house-elf turned and bowed at him as well, giving Ranma a better look. She was very short, about three and a half feet tall, with skinny limbs that had knobbly knees and elbows, small, bare feet, and child-like hands with long fingers. Her head was rather large and was completely bald. Her face was framed by pointy, floppy ears with a golden earring in each lobe, her nose was small and hooked like a bird's beak, and her mouth was rather small with two buckteeth slightly protruding from beneath the upper lip. Starr's eyes were quite large and the pupils were a deep jade, flecked with gold. The red towel, he noticed, was really two towels, fastened together around the neck and arms with gold pins and worn like a dress. Besides the towels, the elf wore nothing else. He knew why she was called Starr, as the elf had a Star shaped birth-mark smack in her forehead.

"Ranma, this is Starr." Ranma stood up and held out his hand, bowing slightly. The elf's floppy ears twitched slightly but she did not reach for the hand. "It's ok, Starr, this is my son Ranma."

The elf cautiously grasped his hand in a surprisingly strong grip, then bowed even lower. "Starr is happy to finally meet young master!" she squeaked in a high-pitched voice

"Uh, nice to meet you too." Ranma said, feeling embarrassed at the title she used to address him. "You really don't have to call me master. Just call me Ranma."

"Oh no, Young master, Starr must address Mistress's son properly. Young Master must be shown proper respect."

"But-"

"Ranma, I'm afraid she really won't budge on this issue, even if you order her to call you Ranma." interrupted Nodoka. "However, I think that calling him Ranma-sama will suffice, Starr."

"If Mistress thinks it's best, Starr will call Mistress's son Ranma-sama." Starr agreed reluctantly.

"Ranma will be staying with us from now on, we will be moving to the England estate tomorrow, so consider his requests to be the same as mine. However, you are not to take any orders from Genma; that's the fat man in the door frame to the cabinet. Treat him kindly but, if he has any requests, tell him to come to me."

"Starr will gladly do anything Ranma-sama asks but will not follow Genma's order, as Mistress asks." she said, sounding more cheerful, as if she was happy to have two more people to look after.

"Very well, you may return to your duties. But, before you do, could you kindly apparate Genma upstairs into the smallest guest room please." said Nodoka. The house-elf bowed to them both and walked over to the door frame Genma was in, grasping his swollen head and, with another crack, disappeared from the kitchen with Genma also gone. "What's wrong, Ranma- dear?" she asked, for he now wore a dazed expression.

"Well, it's just that this is a lot to take, all at once, you know?" he said, shaking his head. Ranma felt very strongly as if he were trying to fill a teacup with a firehose.

"Yes, it is quite a shock, finding out you can do magic. You're luckier than I was, though, because you'd seen real magic before you'd been told, the magic of Jusenkyou, any wizard knows not to step foot _near_ that place. Oh, how that shocked your grandparents."

"They didn't know about magic either?" asked Ranma. "But how-" Ranma's stomach cut him off, choosing to make itself heard. He blushed with embarrassment, his face as red as his female sides hair.

"Goodness, what sort of mother am I? You must be starving. I just hope I have enough for you, from what your father's said, you've got quite an appetite." Without getting up, she pointed her wand at the small refrigerator and muttered "Accio".

The door flew open and from inside came a parade of dishes and a carafe. When they had deposited themselves on the table, she repeated the spell, this time pointing at the cupboards to summon a cup, a bowl, and chopsticks. When they landed on the table, a wave of the wand lifted the covers on the dishes, all of which were mysteriously warmed, filled the bowl with rice, and filled the cup with water. She nodded at him to follow her into the kitchen, where she pointed at the thing she had put on the stove earlier- which turned out to be tea.

"Please, have a bite and I'll tell you all about it."

"Arigoto!" said Ranma enthusiastically over folded hands before grabbing his chopsticks and digging in. His mother paused for a second, both amused and amazed at the speed the boy could eat.

"I think you were going to say 'But how did you become a witch?' The thing is, no amount of teaching will give you magical powers. Wizards and witches are born, not raised. Even though my parents were not magical, I, by some coincidence of genetics, was born a witch. You see, Muggle-borns are people born into muggle family's."

"Muggles?"

"Non magical people. I was born into a wealthy and completely 'normal' family. my father was promoted so we moved to the united kingdom. I was ecstatic because, as you can see from my house, I am very into western things."

"A professor came, apparently I wasn't all muggle blood, not that it matters- people are born like that. One of my old friends were." She looked incredibly sad as she said this so Ranma chose not to press it.

"Anyway, I was related to this Professor, her name was Minerva McGonagall. She told my family about how I was magical- _**me**_! I had never been more happy, as I was considered 'freaky' at school and a 'bad representer' of my family. I had done some magical outbursts, they stop after you get your wand but can occur if you become severely sad or angry. McGonagall said she was my aunt and explained everything."

By now, Ranma had eaten his fill and was listening attentively. "What happened after that?"

"Well, we went to Diagon Alley - a wonderful place, I think you'll enjoy it – and I rode the train to Hogwarts for my first year at school. That, however" she said, noting a stifled yawn from Ranma, "is a story for another time. We have to make an early start tomorrow and, besides, it really is time that you were off to bed. Starr will show you to your room." They rose from the table and she, again, wrapped him in a tight hug. "It's good to have you back home, Ranma."

Ranma hugged her tightly as well "It's good to be home, Mom." He whispered.

When Ranma woke up in the morning, he couldn't believe how well rested he was. His mom had a western bed in his room, which was really soft and comfortable. When he'd first hit his head on the pillow he'd fallen asleep.

Ranma slowly yawned and sat up, stretching his arms and legs. He looked out the window and wasn't surprised to see the sun only just rising, his father was one for waking up early and training.

Ranma got out of bed and changed into his Chinese clothes, finding nothing else he could wear except his training Gi, and he was _**not**_ going to be like his dad and walk around in it.

Ranma was confused when he went out the door, there was no indication of stairs anywhere! Just when he was about to begin looking, Starr appeared in front of him, smiling and she bowed deeply to him.

"Good Morning Ranma-Sama! Starr was certain that Ranma-Sama would be confused as he was being to tired to remember way to kitchen last night, so Starr came to lead Ranma-Sama downstairs." The elf was smiling so brightly her eyes twinkled.

Ranma felt his heart swell with gratitude "Arigoto, Starr! I was kinda...lost."

Starr's smile faded and she glared at the house, then she beckoned Ranma to lean over and whispered in his ear "This house plays tricks, it does, Ranma-Sama. It be seeing how smart new master be. Starr try to warn it not to hide or Mistress will be getting onto it, but it didn't listen!" Ranma decided right here that he liked this elf, she was kind, generous, and she was funny.

"Well, let's show the house how smart we _**both**_ are, will you help me find the stairs?" Starr nodded her head, her ears flapping and Ranma let out a small laugh.

"Of course, Ranma-Sama! Starr be doing anything Ranma-Sama wishes!" Ranma frowned when she said that.

"How much do you get paid, Starr?" He asked politely, Surely the elf could afford better clothes.

Starr's eyes filled with horror and she made a gasping sound in her throat "_**Pay**_! Starr get's paid nothing, Ranma-Sama! Starr wishes to be paid nothing! Please don't! No pay! No clothes!" Starr nearly screamed, her eyes filled with tears as she clutched at Ranma's feet "No clothes, Ranma-Sama!"

Ranma didn't know what he did, so naturally he freaked out "What! Why? I mean-Ugh! No clothes, Starr! Just, just, why don't you get paid?"

Starr smiled and let go of the short boy's leg (who couldn't be happier about that arrangement) "Starr is a house elf, Ranma-Sama! Starr lives to serve her Master Ranma-Sama and her Mistress Nodo-chan!" Ranma's eyes were the ones filled with horror this time.

"You're a slave!"

"No! Starr is a house elf! Starr loves what Starr be doing! Ranma-Sama, let's go find stairs now, was Ranma-Sama request, yes?"

Ranma headed down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, where he saw his mother sitting at the table, having tea and toast and reading a newspaper that seemed to be made of parchment. "Good morning, Ranma, what's got you up so early?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged. "We usually get up this early to spar."

"I was going to have to wake you up soon anyway. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Not yet, I can't really eat anything unless I've had a morning practice. I'm just waiting for Pops to come down."

"Well, I see the time on the road hasn't changed too much about him."

"Yeah, but I sent Starr to wake him up and send him down so-" Ranma was cut off by a muffled yell of surprise followed by a splash from outside in the yard. Using a door from the kitchen, they ran outside to find a very wet and dazed panda in the large koi pond. Nodoka was trying, without much success, to hide her amusement. "Oh dear, I'm afraid she took you literally at your word." she said

Ranma hefted his father from the pond, careful to avoid getting too wet himself, after which Nodoka sprayed Genma with hot water from her wand, rendering him human once more. "That damn elf." he groused.

"Careful Genma, Starr's ears are very good." teased Nodoka.

"Why'd she throw me out here anyway?" Genma asked grumpily as he squeezed the water from his bandanna.

"I told her to send you down here, but I didn't think she'd throw you." said Ranma, laughing. "You should've been up by now anyway. We're supposed to spar before breakfast, remember?"

"What's the point anyway?" Genma said darkly, more to himself than to Ranma.

"I have to train, obviously. What, you can't keep up anymore, _**old **_man?" said Ranma, goading his father.

Genma's face lit up with outrage. "I'll show you whose an 'old man', boy." said Genma to his now smirking son. "And keep it down, we don't need to be disturbing neighbors at this time of the morning."

"Don't worry about that, Genma." said Nodoka. "A bomb could go off over here and no one would know any better. I've put up a few protections since you've been gone."

"I didn't mean the noise, I meant that we should keep this fight below the roof line, for a change. I don't feel like explaining to someone why I crashed through their roof." Genma replied.

The two martial artists faced one another as Nodoka looked on with great interest. She had never seen Ranma display his skills, though she knew, from what Genma had been telling her for years, he was exceptional. Now, however, facing his tall and stout father, Ranma looked very small and insubstantial. Ranma, however, did not appear to be too concerned. His stance was very relaxed, while Genma seemed extremely concentrated. They bowed slightly, then launched at one another.

It was a very short match. They moved at speeds that Nodoka had only come to associate with Quidditch seekers, if not faster. Genma, at least, she could follow, though his hands and feet were blurs; Ranma seemed to almost teleport between places. In the span of thirty seconds, they had moved around the garden, onto the roof, and along the fence. In the end it was obvious, even to her untrained eye, why Genma had been concentrating so hard. Despite his youth and limited training, Ranma was simply faster and stronger than his father. She knew of Genma's extensive strength and skill which, at times, allowed him to do superhuman things. Now, seeing the two in action, Nodoka could understand why he was starting to say Ranma was "probably the best martial artist of his generation."

Nodoka could clearly see that martial arts had a grip on her son so tight that he would probably never truly abandon it, even after the eye opening experience of magical education. It had not really seemed possible, in her mind, to compare magic to fighting, but it was clear, for that brief moment, that Ranma might well choose martial arts over magic. She forced this unsettling thought from her mind and led the way back into the kitchen, where she knew Starr would have a large breakfast awaiting them.

After breakfast, Ranma went into another room for an hour to read up on his mother's job.

"Ranma, this way." called Nodoka, who was standing with two people he had not met. One was a dark-gray haired Japanese man of medium build and average height who was wearing teal robes and looked to be near his mother's age. Next to him was a white woman of about fifty years, in plum-colored robes and a matching wizard's hat, who was about the same height as Nodoka and had long brown hair that was just beginning to go gray." Masamune, Hermesia, allow me to introduce my husband, Genma," Genma shook hands with them both, " and my son, Ranma. This is Masamune Shirow, who is taking my place as Liaison to the British Ambassador, and Hermesia Beckancall, the British Ambassador."

Ranma bowed slightly to both of them before shaking their hands. Masamune enthusiastically shook his hand, much as a subordinate would to score points with their boss. " It's a pleasure to meet you, Ranma, Nodoka has told me so much about you." he said.

"Indeed she has." said Hermesia. "I hear you're of age for wizard school. Lucky for you your mother got a promotion! Hogwarts is a lovely school, I really think you'll enjoy it. I know your mother did, with all she got up to there."

"You went to school together?" asked Ranma.

"Only a year. Hermesia was head girl when I was a first-year. I believe I may have been a bit, er, rambunctious my first few years." Nodoka replied.

" Rambunctious indeed. " Hermesia laughed. " Between the prefects and Filch, I can't say who was more successful at catching you when you were up to your mischief."

"Yes, I did seem to get a lot of detention, didn't I?" Nodoka agreed, astonishing her son, who would never have believed his mother was anything more than a model student. "Hermesia, I'd love to chat, but We have so much to do today, if we don't hurry... Thank you both for seeing me off. I will, of course, be at your service if you need me."

"Do have a good time of it, Nodoka. I'm sure I'll be seeing you within a few months." Hermesia said.

She shook hands with them both and bowed slightly to them before turning around and leading Ranma, Genma, and Starr towards the door with their stuff. Nodoka waited until they were out of the 'Anti apparition' wards and took a hold of them,Starr already being told to apparate there "This might feel a little weird."

Ranma suddenly had the feeling that he was being squeased through a tiny tube. His stomach felt plastered to his back.

After settling in, Genma went to sleep imediatly complaining of 'Damn apparating" and other not-so-nice-words-that-can't- be-put-in-a-K rated-fic. Later that day after settling in a letter came via a very tired Kyoko, which Nodoka read out loud:

_**Dear Nodoka;**_

_**It was a most pleasant surprise to hear from you. I do, of course, keep an eye out for news of my former students, but it is far more enjoyable to have a direct line, so to speak. I hope that this letter finds you and your family in good health and spirits.**_

_**I am glad to hear that your son Ranma is now of age to attend wizarding school. However, I was rather surprised to learn that you wished for him to attend Hogwarts as opposed to the Kirinas I have made an inquiry as to the first case with your Ministry and it seems that Ranma is, indeed, on the short list for Japan's elite school. On the other hand, your residence is in Tokyo, which does present a difficulty. I'm sure, however, that if I were to receive proof of your family's residence in the United Kingdom by the third week of August, It would not be a problem.**_

_**I hear that you have an estate in the United Kingdom, so when you get this please send proof that Ranma will be living there and you will at least be living there during the summer.**_

_**If Ranma does join our school, please note that his Jusenkyou 'situation' will be notified to all the teachers and Prefects, as to get away from the students if some occurrence happens.**_

_**Your Aunt told me to send her love and brought up an issue, will Ranma be registered as female or male, It does not matter either way, it would make it easier for Ranma if he so wishes to hide his, how did you put it, curse I believe is what you said.**_

_**I look forward to hearing from you again in the next couple of months.**_

_**Waiting your reply,**_

_**Albus Dumbledore**_

"I am _**NOT**_ going to school as a _**girl**_!" Ranma nearly shouted. Nodoka just smiled at him.

"Of course not, Ranma dear. But do you wish to keep your curse a secret?"

Ranma was for a stump, finally he nodded his head and said "Yes, at least at first." Nodoka nodded and began writing a reply. When she was done, she let Ranma read it.

_Dear Professor,_

_Thank you for allowing Ranma into Hogwarts, here is our bills, deeds and such saying that Ranma will be living in the United Kingdom. Thank you again for allowing his curse to be no bother. Ranma told me that he wishes to have it a secret, at least at first._

_We recently arrived in England, which I believe is why I got your Owl so suddenly. I am more than glad to be sending my child there, and could you please send his Hogwarts acceptance letter soon._

_Tell Aunt Minerva that I will see her very soon._

_All my love,_

_Nodoka S._

Though he knew it had to happen, Ranma was disappointed that, within a day of their arrival, Nodoka became so busy with her duties as the incoming Ambassador that he only saw her late in the evenings. His father did not let the free time go to waste, however. After ensuring that the same magical charms from their other house had been applied to this house, Genma resumed Ranma's martial arts training with renewed vigor, though making sure to keep it to only a few hours each morning. In the evenings he began Ranma's English lessons (which often ended with a fight, but got the message across all the same). The rest of the time he and Ranma would venture out into London and explore, though they often had to fight the urge to hop onto the rooftops to quickly traverse the city, as they were wont to do. "We're not in Japan or China, where people wouldn't be surprised by that sort of thing." Genma reminded his son.

Time flew by so quickly that, one Friday, three weeks into July, Ranma was startled to realize that the second week of August had come to a close. It was more surprising to see his mother not rushing about to get to the office. In fact, she was enjoying a leisurely breakfast and trying, with the usual lack of success, to get Starr to sit at the table and join her. "Well, I was wondering when you'd get down to breakfast." she said cheerfully. "And where's your father?"

"Uh, I think he went to get changed." said Ranma, knowing full well that his father was probably out in the yard sulking over yet another "secret technique" that Ranma had already mastered. "Shouldn't you be off to work?"

"Oh, I thought I'd go in a bit later today, seeing as how I've been so busy lately." she said nonchalantly, though Ranma noticed that she was avoiding his eyes.

"Oh, okay." he said, deciding to wait and see the real reason she was taking her time. He sat down and helped himself to toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and porridge, breakfast items which he was gradually accepting as "normal", though he thought it would have been nice to have a more traditional Japanese breakfast on occasion. Realizing that it would be hard to come by Japanese food unless he got it at home or cooked it himself, Ranma had eaten a lot of food that his mother assured him was common British fare to prepare himself for his months at Hogwarts.

Ranma was halfway through his food when Genma finally entered the kitchen. Knowing that his food was in imminent danger, Ranma immediately shifted to Saotome Speed Eating(TM) mode and polished off the rest of his breakfast in a lightning fast and noisy manner. Nodoka frowned disapprovingly but did not say anything, knowing that it would be futile to argue against the eating habits of her son and husband, who used every meal as yet-another training exercise. "Save some for me, boy." Genma growled.

"You gotta get in here earlier, old man!" said Ranma cheerfully. As Genma sat down at the table, the sound of a bell ringing filled the house, signaling the arrival of Kyoko with the post. When Starr appeared, however, she was not carrying Kyoko but a normal brown owl. He looked interestedly as his mother took a thick roll of parchment from the bird's outstretched leg.

"Ah, I believe that this is for you." Nodoka said, handing the parchment, unopened, to Ranma. He could not imagine anyone who would be writing him, much less anyone who would send something through owl post. He looked to his mother questioningly and she nodded with a smile. "Go ahead, open it." His father just grunted, and Nodoka frowned at him.

He slit the parchment's seal and unrolled the letter. It read:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

**Dear Mr. Saotome,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

_Minerva McGonagall,_

**Deputy Headmistress**

He had known, since moving to London, that he would have a place at Hogwarts, but that did not make receiving the letter any less exciting. "Mom...it's my invitation to Hogwarts!" he said, handing it over to her with an uncharacteristically trembling hand.

"Well, I see they haven't changed the wording one bit. Same letter I got." she said with a grin as she handed it back to him. "I expect we'll need to make a trip to Diagon Alley soon. It usually gets so crowded towards the end of August."

"Diagonally?" Ranma asked, looking confused. "You don't mean the direction, do you Mom?"

"It does sound like that, doesn't it? It's Diagon Alley." she replied, emphasizing the two words. "And it's the largest collection of wizard shops in Britain. It's right in the middle of London. It's been there for ages, as long as London has been here, I think."

"Sounds like Pai Yar Square in Kyoto." grunted Genma, who had surfaced for air momentarily before diving back into his breakfast. "Probably full of cheap foreign stuff, I bet."

"And, of course, you'd be the authority on that, living in England and all." Nodoka replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I think you ought to send your reply straightaway, no sense in putting it off."

She magicked a quill, ink, and parchment onto the table. He thought a second, then wrote, in somewhat uneven cursive:

_**De**_**a**_**r **_**Pro**_**fes**_**so**_**r McG**_**on**_**ag**_**all**_**,**_

_**I **_**acc**_**e**_**p**_**t t**_**he**_** i**__n__**vi**_**ta**_**ti**_**on**_** to **_**Hog**_**wa**__r_**ts**_** a**_**n**_**d I w**_**il**_**l try my **_**bes**_**t t**__h_**is ****c**_om_**i**_**n**_**g**_** t**_**er**_m__**.**_

**Si**_**n**_**ce**_**re**__ly__**,**_

_**R**_**anm**_**a S**_**ao**_**t**_**ome**

On the following Saturday Ranma and Nodoka headed out to do Ranma's school shopping. "We'll stop off at the Leaky Cauldron first. That's the pub that hides the entrance to Diagon Alley." she said, answering his unspoken question. After a quick trip through the Floo, they stepped out of the fireplace and into a rather dark and shabby looking pub. Nodoka looked around the place fondly as the buzz of conversation stopped at their arrival.

"Well I'll be...Nodoka Saotome, it has been too long." said the bartender. The other customers seemed to recognize Nodoka's name and whispered to each other.

"Tom, it really has been. You're looking well." she replied as she approached the bar, Ranma in her tow. "The place has changed a bit."

"Oh no, the pub never changes, just the people." he chuckled. "I saw that you're Ambassador now, congratulations. And who is this?"

"Oh yes, Tom, this is my son Ranma. He's starting Hogwarts this fall. Ranma, this is Tom. He's run the Leaky Cauldron since...well, since I was your age at least."

"Pleased to meet you." Tom said, giving Ranma a surprisingly strong handshake for an old man. "Join me for drink, Nodoka dear? We can catch up on old times."

"Perhaps later, Tom. Ranma and I have his school list to get."

"Of course, of course." said Tom, smiling. "Another time then."

Nodoka waved goodbye to Tom, then led Ranma out of the bar into a small, walled courtyard that was empty save for a few weeds and a trash bin. "Now let's see if I remember..." she counted the bricks above the trashcan, "Three up, two across, and tap with your wand." She said, tapping the brick. The brick quivered and wiggled as a hole grew from a pinpoint in it's center. Soon the whole had expanded into an archway that was easily sixteen feet tall.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley ." Nodoka said to her son, who was looking through the archway with awe. They stepped through the archway into the bright sunlight that bathed the cobble stoned street that stretched before them. Ranma nearly wrenched his neck trying to take in all of the sights. There was a stack of cauldrons, some gold and silver even a copper one, glittering in the sun outside of one of the first shops. People, all dressed in brightly colored wizard robes , bustled about, entering and exiting the shops lining the street. They passed an Apothecary, which was having a sale on dragon livers at seventeen sickles an ounce. "Oh, that is ridiculous. And I thought the prices were bad in Japan." said his mother.

They walked on, passing a shop called Eeylops Owl Emporium, which was loud with the hooting of countless owls. Further down was Quality Quidditch Supplies, whose window display, a Nimbus 2000 racing broom, was drawing a crowd of boys. They passed more shops, which were selling everything from robes to telescopes to spell books; from potion bottles to parchment to wart cap powder. Nodoka did not say anything, letting Ranma absorb the experience. "This place is amazing!" he said finally, rubbing his neck after all of the craning it had done.

They had stopped in front of a snowy white building that towered over the other smaller shops. "I'm glad you like it. It hardly seems to have changed." she said fondly.

"What's this place?" Ranma asked, pointing to the white building.

"Ah, this is Gringotts, the Wizard's bank. It's owned and operated by goblins. It's a worldwide bank with branches in every country. The one in Japan is in Par Yai Square."

"So we're going in?"

"Not today, though it's usually worth the trip through the vaults. No, I already retrieved enough gold for your things." she replied. "Now then, you need to get fitted for robes, so I'll go get your potion ingredients." She pointed him towards a robe shop, Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, handed him a small, purple velvet bag that jingled with coins, and headed back up the street towards an apothecary.

Ranma entered the shop feeling slightly nervous. A squat, smiling witch dressed in peach colored robes with a nice-kind-face greeted him. "Hello dear, here for Hogwarts uniforms?" she asked pleasantly. He nodded. "Got the lot here. There are a couple people in the back, just follow me. In the back of the shop, standing on footstools, were a tall black boy who seemed Ranma's age despite his height, and a pale girl with very bushy brown hair and very prominent front teeth. The girl seemed to have just been talking very excitedly while the boy seemed somewhat relieved by Ranma and Madame Malkin's arrival. Ranma smiled and nodded at them both.

"Up you get." said Madame Malkin after floating a footstool for Ranma to stand on. He got up on the stool and she slipped a robe over his head and began to pin it to the right length.

"Are you a first year?" asked the girl.

"Yes." replied Ranma.

"So am I. I was so hoping to meet someone else in my year. My name's Hermione Granger, what's yours?"

"Ranma Saotome."

"Well, that's a strange name, but Hermione isn't very common either, is it? By the way, this is Dean Thomas, he's in our year." she said, sounding kind of disappointed. "This is all very interesting, isn't it? I didn't even know I was a witch until last week when I got the letter. Nobody in my family is magic at all! I hear Hogwarts is the best school of witchcraft there is. I just can't wait to get my books and my wand, and I'll need to spend the rest of the summer learning the course books off by heart, not that there is much of summer left, just a week and a half, but I can do it! I hope that'll be enough."

Ranma did not know what to say to all that, partly because she had spoken so quickly that it took him a moment to work what she had said, but he did find it impressive that she could say so much without taking a breath. "So what about you? Are your parents wizards?" she asked.

"Yes, but my dad can't preform magic, he dropped out of the Japanese school." he replied.

"It must've been really interesting growing up in the wizarding world. By the way, that's a really interesting accent. Where are you from, China?"

"No, we're from Japan." said Ranma with a slight bit of indignation at the insinuation, which Hermione did not notice.

"Really? Are wizards there really different from wizards here? Do they say spells in Japanese? Why didn't you go to school in Japan?"

"Hermione, can't you give the bloke a chance to answer one question?" said Dean, exasperated. "You're talking so fast that even I can barely understand you!"

"It's okay Dean." Ranma said, though he was grateful for the chance to process Hermione's questions. "I really don't know about wizards in Japan. I didn't even know they existed until a few weeks ago, when I found out my mum was a witch."

"How could you not-" she started, looking utterly shocked, but he cut her off.

"I was traveling with my dad around the world for ten years and didn't really come back home until May. He never told me about my mum being a witch." said Ranma. "And I'm going to Hogwarts instead of the Magic Academy of Japan because my mum went to Hogwarts and she wanted me to go too."

The witch that was fitting Dean tapped him on the shoulder to tell him she was finished. "Well, I'm done, so I'll see you two on September first!" He waved goodbye to them and walked back to the front of the store.

The witch tapped her on the shoulder just as Madame Malkin said to Ranma, "All done dear."

They followed the witches out to the front of the store, where Nodoka and two people whom, from the absolute normality of their attire, Ranma guessed were Hermione's parents. "All done?" she asked Ranma, who nodded. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Ranma. And this must be Hermione." She shook hands with Hermione. "I met your parents in the apothecary. I was just telling them about my first time in Diagon Alley. It's all very overwhelming, coming from a Muggle family."

"Your parents were Muggles too?"

"Oh yes, the visit from Professor McGonagall were quite a surprise, more for my parents than for me. But they, like your parents, were open-minded, which I think makes us two very lucky daughters." Nodoka said, smiling. "Well, we have more shopping to do and I wouldn't dream of holding you all up on your errands." She shook hands with the Grangers again. Mr. Granger payed Madame Malkin, who had just come back with Hermione's package.

"I'll see you on the train then, Ranma." Hermione said, waving goodbye.

"Yeah, see you." he replied as the Grangers walked back out into Diagon Alley, looking extremely out of place. "They sure were...normal." he said to Nodoka.

"Yes. They're both dentists, as normal as a Muggle can be, and with a witch for a daughter! By the way, what did you think of Miss Hermione?"

"Uh..." he said, thinking back over their conversation. "Well, she talks really fast and seems to be really excited about studying. She was nice enough, though."

"Well, at least you'll know one person on the train. That's one more than I knew on my first trip to Hogwarts."

Ranma payed Madame Malkin and thanked her, then led the way back out into the street. "We're making excellent time. Now, to get your books." said his mother cheerfully behind him. They went into a bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, which sold books of all sizes and shapes with titles like "Secret Wand Techniques: Improve Your Spell Casting With Tips from Leading Wizards" and "Potion Making for Dummies". Nodoka bought him his set books and a couple extra potions books that she assured him would be a good deal more informative than the one on the list, "Magical Draughts and Potions".

"Not that it's a bad book, of course, but it's not as thorough as I'd like for first years." she said, frowning over the supply list. "Well, I have scales, phials, and a cauldron at home, and you can use my old telescope. All that's left is your wand and a pet, if you want one. To Ollivanders, then, it's the only place to get a good wand."

Ollivander's, it turned out, was a narrow and shabby-looking wand shop. Peeling gold letters over the door read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._ In the window display was single wand on an old and faded purple velvet cushion.

A bell tinkled as they stepped into the small shop, which was filled to the ceiling with thousands of narrow boxes. Nodoka sat down in a spindly chair while Ranma looked around the shop warily, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Something about the place that he could not identify put him on edge. He felt as if there were a hundred people hiding in the room, all silent as ghosts and attempting to conceal their ki.

"Good afternoon." a voice said softly. Ranma turned to see an old man with wide, pale eyes.

"Uh, hi." said Ranma, feeling relieved that he had been able to faintly detect the man's approach. "We're here for a wand."

"Of course, of course." the man said, glancing over at Nodoka and smiling with recognition. "Nodoka Saotome! What a pleasure to see you again!" He took her hand and kissed it. "Yew, eleven and a quarter inches, somewhat stiff, if I recall."

"Your memory is as remarkable as ever, Mr. Ollivander." Nodoka replied, beaming. "How have things been?"

"The wand business is steady as always, my dear." he replied. "And this is your son..."

"Ranma." said Ranma.

"Of course, and starting at Hogwarts this year? Well now let's see..." Mr. Ollivander pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings on it. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Right, I guess." Ranma shrugged.

"Hold out your arm." He then proceeded to measure Ranma from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and around his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. Of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." From the way he seemed to recite these words, Ranma had a feeling that he said the same thing to every customer.

"That will do." said the man and, as the tape measure fell into a heap on the floor, Ranma realized that Mr. Ollivander was rummaging through the boxes; the tape measure had apparently been taking measurements on its own. He brought down a stack of boxes, set them down, and pulled one out, handing it to Ranma. "Ash and unicorn hair, ten and five-eighths inches, bendy. Give it a little wave."

Ranma did so but Mr. Ollivander took it from him almost immediately and handed him another wand. "Maple with unicorn core, Nine and Three quarter inches, a little swishy."

While the other wand felt like an ordinary piece of wood, this one felt strangely warm and tingly in his hand. He flicked his wrist, sending a jet of red and gold sparks into the gloomy room. "Very good! Got it in two, excellent!" He returned the wand to its box and wrapped it up. "You're wand is best for charms and Defense against the Dark Arts. Now, would you like anything else? A wand care kit, perhaps?" Ranma nodded and paid for the wand and the kit. They exited the shop, Nodoka promising to stop by again as they left. After the dusty gloom of the wand shop, the sun seemed blindingly bright.

"Well, that's all of the essentials." said Nodoka. "Shall we go to see about an animal?"

"Sure." he replied, though he could not think of any pet he might want, never having had one before. They walked back up the street and turned into a shop that looked very similar to Muggle pet shops. Nodoka walked in with Ranma close behind but, when she turned around, after hearing a half dozen cats purring and meowing, she was surprised to see that her son was frozen in the doorway, looking pale and terrified, with six cats circling and rubbing his legs.

"Ranma, what's wrong?" she said quickly as she moved towards him. As the cats continued to rub on him, his eyes grew wider and more fearful, she reverted to Japanese as she adressed her son. "Ranma, what's wrong? Say something!"

"N-n-n-n-" Ranma stuttered, " -n-n-ne-ko!"

"May I help you, Madame?" asked the witch, who had just come from out of the back. Nodoka ignored her.

"Cats? What about-" Suddenly, it dawned on her what her son was trying to say; he was afraid of cats.

"Oh no, those aren't cats, they're kneazles." said the witch.

"Thank you very much!" Nodoka said impatiently before ignoring the woman once again. "Ranma, they're not going to hurt you..." she said gently.

But Ranma did not seem to hear her. His agitation was growing and he was beginning to act strangely. His fingers were curling up like claws and a warning growl, like a cat on the verge of striking, rumbled deep within his chest. The sound made her skin prickle. "Okay Ranma, we're leaving." She shooed the kneazles, nearly kicking a bandy-legged ginger one, grabbed Ranma by the arm, and dragged him out of the shop, an action that was made more difficult because he was as stiff as a board.

It was another five minutes before the look of terror eased from Ranma's face. They were back in the Leaky Cauldron, where Nodoka had ordered a cup of hot tea with a couple splashes of firewhiskey for Ranma. His hand was shaking so badly that she had to hold the cup up for him to drink. Gradually the drink had its effect; the color returned to Ranma's cheeks and his shaking subsided. Nodoka sighed with relief.

"Are you alright, Ranma?" she asked, concern etched on her face. He nodded slowly. "What happened back there? I've known people to be afraid of cats, but never like that. It was like you were afraid for your life."

"I've been like this for five years. Ever since Pops tried to teach me the Neko-ken." Ranma said darkly.

"Cat's Fist?"

"Yeah. It's supposed to be some kinda invincible technique. Pops got a manual for it somewhere and he tried to teach me."

"Okay, but what's training got to do with-"

"He wrapped me in fish sausages and threw me into a pit of starving cats." said Ranma, his voice trembling slightly. Nodoka looked shocked. Ranma smiled, but the expression seemed more like a grimace. "It wasn't so bad the first time but, see, I didn't learn the technique, so...he...he kept wrapping me in fish sausages and throwing me back in until I learned the technique."

Ranma looked away from Nodoka, not wanting to see the look of mingled pity and horror on her face and fighting tears. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep the moisture in his eyes. He swallowed hard before continuing. "I heard that I acted like a cat for a couple days before snapping out of it. He didn't finish reading the manual before trying it on me, or else he would've seen the warning about how the training makes you crazy." he said bitterly as he wiped his eyes. "I've learned to live with it. As long as I stay away from cats, I'm okay."

Nodoka's mind was reeling as she imagined her son, six years old, huddled fearfully in a dark pit while starving cats tore into him. He probably screamed for help that never came, probably thought the worst was over when Genma had lifted him from the pit, only to be thrown back again and again. It made sense that Ranma acted as he had in the pet shop; he had serious mental scarring. "I don't believe your father..." she hissed, outraged. She jumped to her feet suddenly and pulled Ranma to his feet. "Well, we shall have to find ways for you to deal with cats, as I'm afraid they're quite prevalent in the wizarding world. In the meantime," her eyes flashed menacingly and her voice became harder than steel, "I am going to have a word with your father about this."

She swept him away towards the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace, giving a rather brusque goodbye to Tom. As the Floo spun them quickly toward 13 Brandywine Court, Ranma could not help but feel a little sorry for his unsuspecting father, who would soon be facing the wrath of a very angry, very powerful witch.


	3. Chapter 3:Journey from platform 9&3 4ths

Hi guys, Ninja Penguin Princess here, thanks for the reviews, I love you all!

Prince: *sounding freakishly like Umbridage* Hem Hem

Ninja Penguin Princess: AHHHH! Oh, it's you... Oh! I mean- we love you all?. Ranma remembers Ryoga because they had the feud in Junior High, so It's closer to the time period.

I would personally like to thank **Crying without a single tear** For all her support on both of my fan-fictions. Thanks so much and I love you! ;) Without fans like you I don't think I would continue either story.

Anyway- Here's the chapter and for my other story _**My Wife the Cat**_, any day now, or even a week, it all depends on how much time I spend in doors. XD **OH PAY ATTENTION TO THIS:**

I have a poll on my Profile, I dunno which house to put Ranma in! It'd help If you all voted before **Chapter Four: Sorting **comes out...of the closet (Couldn't resist! =. ) sorry) Thanks guys!

Princess: Remember: *****Talk example*** **means Japanese and **!**Talk Example**! **means English! Also, since Ranma was 14 or 15 when he got the dragon whisker and hair thing, I am not having it happen. Ranma with his hair down is HAWT! I mean...Oh look, a Penguin! *runs off set*

Prince: *sigh* Why me, always the crazy ones...Anyway! We do not own _**Harry Potter**_ or _**Ranma 1/2**_. They belong to J.K Rowling and Rumiko Takashi. We're just lazy teens who are bored during summer, although...We like to pretend OKAY! IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU! Please support the official release.

* * *

_**Ninja Penguin Princess and Prince are tired of writing this every time, so here's**_

_**Ranma Saotome and the Sorcerer's Stone:**_

**Chapter three: Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters:**

* * *

Ranma's last week and a half at home were pretty un-eventful. As soon as they had got back from Diagon Alley, Nodoka rounded on the older martial artist, pulling out her wand and holding it to his neck, the fat wizard to slow to comprehend what had happened before it was too late.

"What," She had said rather threateningly "Did you do to Ranma." Genma looked a little confused and a whole-Lotta scared.

"What'dya mean woma-"

"Cats fist! You tried to teach my _baby_ the _**cat's fist**_!" Nodoka nearly screamed, glaring at Genma and shaking with rage. Ranma calmly edged to the side of the room towards the stairs, not wanting to be near the line of fire.

Genma looked shocked for a minute, before he glanced at Ranma "You couldn't keep your mouth shut for two minutes boy? Thought you'd run to Mo-"

Nodoka just smiled evilly at him and Ranma was honestly thinking his mother had went crazy-or maybe she had been like that all along and he had missed it. "Oh, no, don't put this on _**Ranma**_ Genma Saotome. Not when it is entirely _**your**_ fault." Genma seemed to be scared by how calm Nodoka was being, which he would have reason to be. "We ran into some _**cats,**_" Ranma shivered at the word, which went unnoticed, "while shopping today."

Genma held up his hands in the pure sign of "_Don't shoot! I give up_" and smiled lopsidedly at Nodoka "Now, Nodo-chan I just-"

"Don't you _Now Nodo-chan_ me! You **TORTURED** my baby boy! From what I understand you didn't even read the entire manual!"

Nodoka seemed to think for a minute "I could curse you, but those don't last long...Hmm..." She thought for a moment before her eyes lit up, Ranma had three words implanted in his mind (which he ignored) the words were _**RUN, BOY, RUN!**_

"You will live in Japan, by yourself, no house-elf's or anyone to take care of you. In perfect solitude, Genma Saotome I will know if you meet up with someone and I will send Starr down once a month with some food and to fix repairs on the house. You will be allowed back in England when I am not so angry, maybe when Ranma get's back from school, maybe Christmas. Who knows?"

Genma looked utterly shocked "Nodoka-"

Nodoka whispered something under her breathe and Genma lit up in a yellow and grey light. She muttered something else, took her wand back a little, flicking it, and Genma was suddenly gone. "Well, now that that's taken care of, Why don't you help me make a potion Ranma? I can show you the basics and you'll have to make this one when your over at Hogwarts anyway."

Ranma was excited to finally get to do something related to magic and nodded his head furiously, following his mother to a wood door, which she knocked on in 6 different areas with her wand and it swung open to a large set of spiraling stairs.

"Wait, Mom?" Nodoka paused and looked at her son, who continued talking "I was wondering, why do I need this potion anyway?"

Nodoka just smiled and held up a hand in the clear way that said 'One second', waved her wand again, muttering "_Lumos_" and suddenly her wand had light growing out of it in a sort of flashlight manor, but Ranma had never seen a flashlight quite like this.

"There is a potion that I can brew, It helps people with their fears. If I just put a little bit of essence of cat and some cats bane, I can make it to where cat's stay away from you and you don't freak out when you see one."

Ranma was taken aback, holding onto the rail, he asked "Are you sure it will work, I mean, has anyone ever been afraid of c-c-ca-ca...fuzzy demons before?"

Nodoka was amused and disgusted at the fact that Ranma couldn't even bear to say the name. When Genma got back he was so dead...if she ever let him back that is.

"A few, yes. But not nearly as bad as you." She said, then cheerfully "I suppose I could switch this conversation and tell you more about Hogwarts?"

Ranma nodded, he didn't want to look foolish/more foolish when he got there.

As they stepped off the bottom step he looked around, shelves were filled with jars of odd-shaped things and weird colored liquids, was that eyes? Ranma shivered and tried to look at the rest of the room. The area was huge, large kitchen counter/stove type thing was in one area of the room, with a gold cauldren on top of the burner which was much better than Ranma had for school. The walls were a green color while the floors were a pure black. It was oddly homey in there.

"Now, Hmm...Where do I begin...?" Nodoka muttered as she went to one of the shelves and pulled out a few ingredients, setting them by the cauldron and going back to the shelves, doing the same to two or three of them before she seemed to have all she needed. "I guess I could tell you about the Great Hall, that's where you'll eat your food and be sorted."

"Sorted?" Ranma asked, not liking the sound of it.

"Oh! It's a test the put you through to see which house you'll be in dear, not to hard as all you have to do is sit. I can't tell you anymore on sorting, but I'll get back to houses later."

Ranma just nodded.

"Ranma, could you mash these up in the mortar until I say stop?" She handed him a handful of sharp, pointy teeth.

"What are they?" He asked, putting them in the mortar and grabbing the rounded thing, beginning to mash them at a slow, constant rate.

"Snake fangs. Anyway, the Great Hall is an amazing place, with the ceiling charmed so it looks like the sky outside. It's really beautiful during sun rise or nighttime." she sighed "The food is very good, and is rather, um, shocking the first time it is delivered to you." Ranma looked at her in confusion but she just shook her head.

"Oh, Ranma, those snake fangs are mashed perfectly! Now, first you add 6 snake fangs mashed up, and then a little bit of eels eyes." She held up a mushy liquid that she had mashed up. "They need to look as close to this as you can get them."

"Okay, what about the houses?" He egged his mother on, wanting to do potions and wanting to learn about where he would be living during the school year.

"They are where you will be living for the school year, where you will eat also is determined by house. Along with Classes. Basically it's one big family. Now we add three chopped up unicorn hairs."

"There's Ravenclaw- where the smart and studiers dwell, then there's Hufflepuff- who are nice enough but, I've always been told they have no real talent, not that I believe it." _"I'll probably get that house"_ Ranma thought bitterly. "Then there is Gryffindor- who are brave and put honesty and honor over all, even their studies. Then there is my old house, Slytherin. They are cunning, smart and get out of pinches quick. But not all of them are too smart or nice, just like with the other houses." She just shrugged it off. "Did you know, Merlin was in Slytherin?"

Noting that Ranma hadn't a clue, she sighed. "You need to research all those other books I bought you, You'll need the knowledge dear."

"Now, with our potion you just let it simmer at about 200 degrees for exactly 30 seconds and add a little bit of cat essence. After that you stir it clockwise four times. Let it set for a minute and then add two sticks of chopped up cats bane. Then throw in five dragon scales and heat it up again for a minute, wave your wand and utter _Vile non più _and it's done, it only takes about fourteen minutes and is worth it! All that I just made should last three weeks, so you'll have to remake it every three weeks, possibly every two and a half to be safe."

Ranma nodded "Arigoto Mom!" He said, bowing slightly and clasping his hands together. His Mom just laughed.

* * *

Ranma sat in his bed, cozy, with his trunk packed at the foot. A book he had found in the home library in his hands, him intent on the page. You see, Ranma had woken up early and decided to roam around the house, straight to the library. He trained first and then found this intresting book. It was about the history of Jusenkyou, and was written by a English man (Aaron Tucker) who had actually fallen into one of the springs. He had fallen into spring of drowned woman, while his sister fell into spring of drowned pig.

_The Jusenkyou springs were originally created by Morgana in the time of King Arthur. Morgana was jealous and wished to rule Camelot herself. Using her powers, the witch lured King Arthur's wife, Guinevere, to the spring. Guinevere was pushed in and drowned. Morgana cast a charm on the spring and then jumped into it, taking Guinevere's form, but only when she was splashed with cold water and hot water would turn her back._

_Morgana knew her half brother Arthur was fragile about Lancelot since Guinevere had courted him before. She went to Lancelot and had an affair with him in Guinevere's body appearance. Arthur was devastated, having found them out a week later, and went to the springs. Being a muggle, Arthur could not stop himself when he had fallen into a spring of his own. Eventually more animals and things fell into the springs and drowned. The people who fell into them and did not drown taking there shape, the springs changing to where you would look like what __**you**__ would have been if you were born that way. Arthur and Guinevere's springs, the first two, became known as spring of drowned man and spring of drowned girl. _

_Morgana did not succeed in taking down Camelot- she was stopped by the most powerful wizard of their time, Merlin. _

_But that is a irrelevant story and can be found in __**Merlin: The life and trials**__. I had found out the history of Jusenkyou when my sister worked there, she was one of the guides along with her husband. Her husband had went inside to get some tea and my sister and I were left to guard the springs. A group of Muggles came by and, of course, thought that this was a training ground. _

_I tried to warn them off, but they insisted on training here, My sister, Sarah, just told me to wait a minute and let them decide. The mother and father of the group fell into the same spring, Spring of drowned Veela. While the little girl was about to fall into the worst spring by far in Jusenkyou for a girl, Spring of drowned pig. At the same moment the little boy was going to fall into spring of drowned girl. _

_Sarah decided to knock the girl out of the way and fell in herself, while I fell in knocking the boy out of the way. The people thanked us and left with only two of them cursed._

Ranma's eyes widened as he read this, and he felt a little sheepish. He and his father had fallen in acting like stupid muggles, even though Ranma wasn't one he still was raised like one, so it wasn't really that different.

_Since we already knew the curses can't be cured with Jusenkyou, we tried to live with it. I called my girl side 'Erin' and Sarah didn't really need an excuse name for a pig. Later that week Sarah and her husband moved back to England with me, wanting nothing to do with Jusenkyou._

_I found that it's best when cursed to_-

"Ranma-Sama!" Ranma was jolted out of his book and nearly screamed when he saw Starr at the foot of his bed. He sighed in relief and gave a small laugh, finding that he couldn't be mad at small house elf (If it had been anyone but his mother and Starr...) "Ranma-Sama, Mistress sent Starr up to be making sure Ranma-Sama be awake and getting ready."

"Sorry. I was reading a interesting book." He answered truthfully.

"Oh! Starr sorry Ranma-Sama!" The elf smiled up at him through her big jade eyes. "Starr be leaving now, Ranma-Sama. Mistress just wanted Starr to be telling Ranma-Sama and-"

"I'm going to miss you, Starr." Starr looked back at him with awe and astonishment in her wide eyes.

"Ranma-Sama! Ranma-Sama be so kind to Starr! Ranma-Sama make Starr very happy!" The elf practically beamed at him for just saying he'd miss her, it was kind of depressing. "Anything Ranma-Sama need over school timing just call Starr, Starr be coming quick for Ranma-Sama, Starr will!" Starr disappeared and Ranma laughed.

He frowned jus as suddenly, he had just got here a few weeks ago! It seemed like such a small time to spend with your mother you hadn't seen since you were one.

Shrugging it off, Ranma went to his closet and pulled out one of his red Chinese tops and blue pants, his flats also going on. He figured that they'd have to dress like muggles not to attract to much attention, and these were the only Muggle clothes he had.

When he got downstairs and into the kitchen he did a double-take, his mother's hair was longer and in a side ponytail. She had on a pink poodle skirt, long knee socks, and brown penny loafers.

"Good morning Ranma dear!" She said cheerfully, taking a bite out of a pancake. "Did you sleep well?"

"M-Mom?" He said, glancing at her and just staring.

"What is it, did you take your potion dear?"

"Y-Yes but, What are you wearing!" Ranma said, holding back a laugh as he sat down across from his mother, taking a bite out of the pancake laid before him and smiling his gratitude at Starr.

"Oh, this? I think it's best to wear Muggle clothes at Kings Cross dear, as you obviously can tell by your atire." His mother said obliviously.

"But, Mom. That's clothes that muggles wore in the _Seventy's _and _eighty's_." He said, finally laughing a little and smiling at his Mom, who just frowned a little.

Nodoka finally laughed with him "That's when I last had to shop for Muggle clothes dear, I don't mind if they're out of style."

**(A.N: We can clearly see that, Nodoka dear. Poor, Poor fassionless Nodoka dear)**

"Hey, Mom?" Nodoka took a drink of orange juice, frowning at it at, suddenly sugar decided to hop into her cup, a spoon stiring it around before she took another drink and smiled.

"Yes?" She asked, now not focused on her juice-sugar problem.

"I found a book in the library on Jusenkyou, I was wondering if I could take it to school."

Nodoka's eyes lit up and Ranma wondered if he said the wrong thing "Of course, Ranma! I don't mind really." She suddenly made a gasping sound and fumbled around her poodle skirt, muttering "I know it's in this room, somewhere" finally sighing and taking out her wand "_Accio_!"

A small black box flew across the room and into her hand. "Ranma, I got this for you. It's a wizard/Muggle watch. It tells the time on the digital part, and it shows how your family members are."

Ranma took it and smiled, slipping into Japanese in his excitment "*****Thanks, Mom.*****"

He looked at the watch more closely, in the middle was a small digital thing that showed the time(which had already been instaled- 10:15) and a round like clock thing which had three different hands that read "_Ranma, Nodoka, Genma_" His and his mothers hand were pointed to "Home" While Genma's pointed to 'Sulking' Ranma laughed and slipped it on his right wrist.

They ended up taking a taxi to Kings Cross, there being no magical way there, because what if they just magically appeared in the middle of it, chaos is what would happen.

Once they got there, Ranma looked up at his Mom "Isn't Hogwarts a long way away?"

Nodoka just nodded and fiddled with some mugle money for a second. "Scotland, yes. Somewhere in the northern part."

"Why do we take a train, when there's quicker ways to get there?"

Nodoka just smiled at him and gave the driver way too much Muggle money, making him smile brightly and thank her dearly, saying that if she ever needed a taxi to ask for 'Moe' before he drove off. "I think it's more for the Muggle borns, and to let you all socialize without predjudice of houses, that is the first years of course."

They stopped in between platforms Nine and ten, with only a brick wall. Ranma was confused. "Wh-"

"Oh, you just go through the wall, dear. It's just to keep Muggles away, It's really an-"

Ranma interupted his mother, having focused on the energy and properties of the wall, seeing an faint outline of an metal arch "An Archway."

Nodoka looked surprized before she beamed at her son "How did you know that Ranma?"

"Pops taught me how to focus of the Ki and aura of something, to identify with it. I just did that." He shrugged his shoulders like it didn't matter.

"That's really going to help you out later in you magical life, Ranma! Anyway, you just have to walk through the arch, but don't think that you can't, or you really won't." Ranma nodded and went straight through, not closing his eyes for a second.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign above it said '_Hogwarts Express, Eleven O' clock_'. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Ranma felt a hand clasp his shoulder and saw his Mom.

"Are you alright? Potion working?" Ranma just nodded, not feeling scared and no cats daring to come near him. Ranma looked around again. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Ranma walked down the area, looking for a relitivley un-packed carriage. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I still can't find my toad."

"Oh, Neville, what am I going to do with you," he heard the old woman sigh.

An Asian girl with short brown hair and big brown eyes, was surrounded by a small crowd, she was holding a camera ready. She was standing beside a tall black boy with dredlocks, who was smiling and holding a box, the crowd a complete circle around them.

"Step right up! Step right up! See Lee's and Nabiki's astonding trancula, only 1 gallon! Two gallons for a picture with the deadly spider! 3 gallons to use it to prank your friends!"

After collecting some money, the boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Ranma then passed a long-blue-haired girl (Who was taller than him- crap) who was talking to a tall brown-haired girl with a kind smile that imediatly filled you with warmth- who already was in her robes and wore a badge with a large **P** on it, the same color as her robes, canary yellow and a dark black.

"Kasumi! Please tell me!" The blue haired girl was whining, looking sad.

"I can't Akane! Telling first years is against the rules, I just got my badge!" She declared happily, then waved to some people who passed by. "But I will tell you, It doesn't hurt." She then looked around and noticed some frowning faces, sighing she leaned in close to Akane "Much." The blue haired girl went seven shades of white.

As Ranma passed them he came to a relitivley clear carriage and smiled at his Mom. "Goodbye, Ranma. I wish I could stay but I'm already late for work. Tell Hermione I said Hello."

"Okay. See you at Christmas Mom."

"Don't forget to write, I want to hear every word about your first day!" Nodoka said before wrapping him in a giant hug. "I'll miss you Ranma-kun."

"Miss you too Mom." he whispered back, breaking away and climbing up the steps with his trunk.

As soon as he got up there, he dropped his trunk and stared open-mouthed at the students- at least a forth of the people were Japanese and almost all of them were people he knew. One person stood out pretty well though.

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" an angry voice shouted as the taller (why is everyone so tall, damnit!) martial artist's weapon (an umbrella?) hit where Ranma had been a second ago, leaving a large-but not deep-dent.

"Hiya Ryoga!" He said cheerfully, waving at the bandana clad boy and smiling brightly. Ryoga had changed since he last saw him, he was taller, a little faster, his hair was a little longer, and he was wearing yellow and black traveling muggle clothes (which matched his bandana).

"You haven't changed Ranma," Ryoga Hibiki scowled at him, still in the crouching position and holding his red umbrella tightly, his accent just like the others- almost completly original and better than Ranma's (Hey, he only had a few weeks to learn an _**entire language**_!). "You're still good at running away."

They glared at each other for a minute before Ryoga broke the silence "Tell me one thing, Ranma, Why'd you ditch our fight."

Ranma huffed, becoming impaitent "*****I waited _three days_!*****" He nearly screamed, not even noticing when he slipped into Japanese.

Ryoga looked even madder then Ranma "You think I took a _casual stroll_ for those three days! I suffered, I got completly _lost_!" Everyone looked utterly confused, and Ranma laughed.

"How'd ya get lost, the meeting place was, if I remember, right behind your house?" The pig-tailed boy asked, as the taller boy stood up and glowered at him.

"Shut up!" He screamed, making several people jump "It was a man-to-man promise, which you broke and ran off with your father to _China_!"

_"How did he know we went to China?" _Ranma thought and taking advantage of his hesitation, Ryoga quickly waved his umbrella where Ranma's knee caps _had_ been. Ranma jumped up in the air and landed with his feet stanced and his left arm on the ground, keeping balance as he looked up at Ryoga "In other words..." He drawled out, jumping up and flipping, landing on his feet in a casual position. "You wish to finish our fight?"

Ryoga looked shocked and 100 times more furious "Finish our fight? _Finish our fight_? _**FINISH OUR FIGHT**_! This isn't about our fight, not anymore. This is about- _revenge_! No matter what it takes, Ranma, I will destroy your happiness like you did mine!"

It took Ranma 10 seconds, his brain caught up with what Ryoga said and he put 2 and 2 together. "*** **You, You followed us to China?*****" He said, noticing Ryoga's look of shock and halt of attack he continued, "*****We're continuing this conversation in Japanese. You fell in one of the springs, didn't you?*****"

Ryoga looked stunned "*****What's it to you?*****" All the passangers except the Japanese ones looked confused, the Japanese ones looked slightly less confused.

"*****I fell in one too, can we talk about this later? I think insted of being enemies we could help each other out and try to find a cure.*****"

Ryoga looked a whole lot less mad "*****They can't be cured by a different one, can they?*****"

Ranma nodded "*****We're wizards, Ryoga. We can try to form a cure.*****" Ryoga nodded and they both picked up there trunks. "Sorry guys, shows over!" Ranma yelled and everyone moaned, going back to their compartments.

As they walked down the hall, Ranma glanced back at Ryoga "Hey, Ryoga. Would it be cool if we still sparred, that's been the most eventful fight I've had since Pop's turned into a panda."

Ryoga laughed "Genma fell in spring of drowned Panda?" Ranma just nodded "Suits him, anyway, yeah. I can't stay out of shape- so I'll spar with you, if you help me...not get so lost so often." Ranma laughed and soon they both were laughing.

They talked about fighting strategies until they came by a compartment that appeared to have only two boys in it. Ranma, forgetting to knock, opened it and barged in. One of them was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, bright red hair and a long nose. While the other was kind of short (A little taller then Ranma's girl form and a few centimeter's taller then Ranma- why was everyone so damn tall!) with short black hair that stuck everywhere, big emerald green eyes, knobby knees, and round glasses with tons of duck tape.

"Um, there's no other empty compartments so could we sit with you lot?" Ryoga said and Ranma's mouth dropped, there was no hint of the slight Japanese accent Ryoga had earlier- he had faked it! Most likely not to make Ranma look stupid, which was weird becuase they were fighting...oh well.

The one with the black hair nodded and they put there trunks up. "I'm Ron Weasley." The red-head said, Ryoga sat by him and Ranma took the seat by the shorter one.

"Harry Potter." Ryoga did a double take while Ranma just smiled, knowing he wouldn't want the whole 'Ohmygod your famous- teeheehee' thing.

"I'm Saoto-Err...Ranma Saotome and this is Ryoga Hibiki." He remembered at the last moment Americans and Britans used their family name last.

Ron's eyes widened slightly "Saotome...Is your Mum the ambasador of Japan?"

Ranma nodded "Yeah, she still represents Japan and stuff even though we live down here."

Ron just nodded "Are you two related, you seem a little alike." Ranma was horrified while Ryoga let out a laugh.

"No way man, you're probably just noticing that me and that bloke are both Japanese and have black hair. Ranma's been a friend and childhood rival of mine since I can remember. I have an older brother, he's a fourth year at the Japanese school."

Ron nodded "Japanese, that explains the accent. I thought you might be Chinese or something, but Japanese is the same thing isnt it?" Ranma and Ryoga both looked really annoyed.

"No..." They muttered together "It isn't..."

"For one" Ranma said "Every Chinese person I've met is crazy." He shuddered at the thought of Shampoo.

"For two, That'd be like comparing you all to the French or the Americans." Ron and Harry both looked horrified as Ryoga said that.

"Anyway," Ron said, trying to diverge from the awkwardness "I have 5 older brothers. I'm the sixth one to be going to Hogwarts out of a family that's all Gryffindor, You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." He pulled out a fat grey rat- it was sleeping.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff - I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink and Ryoga and Ranma shared a look. They knew what it was like to be poor, so Ryoga decided to save Ron from an awkward moment.

"Hey, Harry. Didn't you go to live with Muggles." Harry nodded "Well, what was it like?" Everyone looked at Harry expectantly and

"Horrible-Well, not all of them are horrible. Just my aunt, Uncle, and cousin. I wish I had five wizard brothers like Ron, or one like you. What about your family Ranma?"

"I don;t have any brothers or sisters that I know of. I didn't know I had magic until a few weeks ago-"

Ron looked at Ranma shocked "Are you a Muggle-Born."

Ranma shook his head "No, Both my parents are magical. I've been traveling with Pop's since I was really young, training. He didn't want me ta' be 'round Mom- he thought it'd distract me, and he thought me knowing 'bout magic would too. I found out in early August."

"What house do you guys want to get?" Harry asked, brushing his hair away for a second and Ranma got a peek at a thin lightning scar.

"I'm expected to get Gryffindor, so I really want to get that one. I think it's the best house. Not that Ravenclaw would be all too bad." Ron said, Ranma noticed randomly that there was a black dot on his nose.

"Slytherin, or Gryffindor." Ryoga said calmly and Ron looked horrified.

"Why would any sane person want Slytherin- it's the house where all the bad ones go!"

"My Mom was in Slytherin." Ranma said, shrugging "She says Merlin was too." Ryoga nodded

"Slytherin's got blamed for a lot of bad stuff, but the other houses don't want you to know they have their lot of bad wizards and witches too. Morgana was a Ravenclaw." Ranma laughed slightly at Ron's expression.

"I still wouldn't want Slytherin." Ron stated, and Harry nodded.

"I just hope I don't get Hufflepuff, Slytherin sounds okay but I don't think It's right for me either. Coming down to it I'd want to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw." Ranma responded, shrugging.

Suddenly the compartment door opened to a familiar bushy haired girl with brown eyes and big front teeth. "Have any of you seen a toad, Neville lost one-Ranma?" Hermione was followed in by a round-faced boy who had tear stains on his face and was sniffling.

"Hey Hermione! Um, haven't seen a toad...But Guys this is Hermione Granger. Hermione these are my friends, Ryoga Hibiki, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

"Are you really?" said Hermione, her eyes gleaming. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_, _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_.

"Am I?" said Harry, looking dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You four had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon. See you later Ranma!"

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"You know." Ron said, looking dazed "Whatever house I'm in I hope she's not in it."

"You _know_ her?" Harry asked, looking at Ranma incredulously.

"Um, yeah. I met her when we were at Madam Malkins shop. She's really cool, just a little-"

"Beaverish?"

"Bossy?"

"Annoying?"

"I was gonna say 'enthusiastic' but..yeah, maybe." Ranma grinned.

"Anyway, did you guys hear about the break-in at Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, though I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault." Ron supplied.

"Really? What happened to them?" asked Ryoga.

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My Dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get around Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd." Ron said. "'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

Ranma perked up at the mention of the Dark Lord. What had this man done that would cause such near panic with a simple robbery attempt? "It was just a robbery though." Ranma said, dismissively. "What's all the fuss?"

Ron looked at him in disbelief "Well, it's Gringotts, isn't it?" he said as if that explained everything. "You don't just walk in there and tell them to reach for the sky! You'd be a fool to try and rob them."

Harry nodded. "The vaults are magic. If you try to open one that's not yours, it'll suck you inside. And they only check them every _ten_ years."

The grin slid from Ranma's face. He was beginning to get an idea of what You-Know-Who meant: power. He searched about in his mind for some way to change the subject, but Ron beat him to it.

"Any of you have a Quidditch team?" he asked.

"Falmouth Falcons." Ryoga said.

"Err, I don't know any." said Harry.

"Never heard of it." said Ranma.

"What!" Ron said, looking dumbfounded. "Just wait, it's the best game in the world -" He began explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he had been to with his brothers the broomstick he would like to get if he had the money. Ron was just going through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open and in stepped three boys, one of which was looking at Harry and Ranma with great interest.

The shortest boy, who was obviously the leader, had a pale, pointed face and cold, gray eyes. The other two boys, thickset and mean looking, flanked him like bodyguards. "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter and Ranma Saotome's in this compartment. So it's you two, is it?" he said, his eyes flickering between Harry and Ranma.

"Yes." Harry replied, casting a glance at the other two boys.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle." said the boy, noticing where he was looking. Ranma eyed them warily. "And I'm Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough which may have been hiding a snigger. Draco shot an ugly look at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He looked at Harry and then to Ranma. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." _"Normally this guy would really make me mad, but he's actually amusing"_ Ranma thought, smirking slightly.

He held out his hand to Harry, who did not take it "I can pick out the wrong sort myself, thanks."

Draco's cheeks went slightly pink Ranma felt the atmosphere in the room chill distinctly. He narrowed his eyes warily at the boys. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." While Ron and Harry sprang to their feet, Ranma and Ryoga sat calmly, their anger building up.

Behind Draco's mask- Ranma saw hurt and frustration. _"Ah, I get it!_" He thought, realizing _"The jerks been taught certain ways to act to people and doesn't know why it didn't work on Harry. Maybe he's a pure-bred (pure-blood?) like Mom was talking about"_ While Ranma was thinking Ryoga had stood up, only to stop from attaking Draco by the look on Ranma's face.

"Ran-ma?" He asked and everyone turned to the pig-tailed martial artist.

"Get out Draco." He hissed, standing up "I get why your acting the way you are and I _might_ forgive you and accept your friendship but that's only if you get. Out. Now." He ground out, standing to his full height and glaring.

"R-Right, You lot are crazy anyway. Crabbe! Goyle!" Draco snapped and practically ran out. Ron and Harry looked at him shocked while Ryoga looked impressed.

"How'd you do that!" Harry finally managed to say.

Ranma screwed his eyebrows together in confusion "Do what?"

"You practically had electricity shooting off of you mate! And the look on Malfoy's face!" Ron grinned from ear to ear.

"Where'd you learn that, Ranma!" Ryoga said, smiling slightly.

"I Dunno. I didn't even know I did it 'till just now." Ranma shrugged, sitting down. "Hey, Harry? Did you know that blonde before?"

Harry nodded "When I was in Madam Malkins he was in the back, We talked for a minute and I could tell right away that he was a great prat." Harry went on to explain in great detail what had happened.

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

Ryoga looked like he disagreed "Now wait just a minute! My Mum told me that the Malfoy's, even though they said they'd been bewitched, had good reason to. Apparently you-know-who had control over Lucius Malfoy, told 'em that he would kill Mrs. Malfoy if he didn't stay and she didn't join. Then Draco Malfoy was born and he had a _higher_ thing over Lucius' actually _had_ been bewitched into joining at first but had broken out of it."

"Hey, guys. It looks like we'll be there soon." Harry said after an awkward silence, looking out the window. It had become dark out and it looked as if the train was slowing down.

While they were getting dressed, something hit Ranma- they might not be in the same house, how would him and Ryoga search for a cure! "Hey, Ryoga." They lost boy looked up, his robes fitting him perfectly but were a little worn in a place or two, Ron's robes were a little short on him (you could see his sneakers), Harry's and his own robes looked brand new and fit them perfectly. "What are we gonna do about that _thing_ if we don't get the same house."

Ryoga seemed to scowl, but Harry interupted "Well, let's make a pact. Even if we're all in each of the different houses, we'll still see each other at _least_ once a week." Ron and Ryoga smiled while Ranma just grinned, they put their hands in the middle and lifted them up- all yelling different stuff (but the gesture was nice enough)

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Ranma was beginning to feel a bit nervous, looking around he noticed his compartment mates didn't seem a bit better. Ron was pale under his freckles, Harry looked like he was going to throw up, and Ryoga nearly got lost on his way to his way to his seat.

After a few moments of silence, Ranma noticed the corridor was filling with students. "I think we should join 'em." Ranma said, jerking his thumb at the corridor. The others agreed and followed him into the throng as the train slowed to a stop. Everyone pushed their way forward out of the door and onto a tiny, dark platform. Ranma got seperated from Ron and Harry making sure Ryoga didn't get lost (he nearly walked into a wall) A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Ranma heard a gruff, deep, friendly voice calling out: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right, 'Arry?"

The big, hairy face of a man, the biggest man Ranma had ever seen, beamed over the heads of the students. He had a fierce, wild, shadowy face with beetle black eyes, and his mouth wore a kindly smile. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!"

"You know that man?" Ranma asked Harry after he had caught up to him.

"Yeah, his name's Hagrid. He's the Hogwarts grounds keeper and he's really cool." replied Harry.

They headed down a steep and narrow path, everyone but a select few who must have been martial artists (was that Ukyo, naw) and Hagrid slipping and stumbling as they walked. Thick trees lined the path. No one spoke much, though Neville sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his should, "jus 'round this bend here."

There was a loud "Ooooh!" The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Ranma laid eyes on the castle that his mother had talked so fondly of for the first time and felt awed, even at this distance.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of boats sitting in the water by the shore. Ranma stepped into one, dragging Ryoga behind him, and was followed by Ron and Harry.

Neville and Hermione set with a pair of identical twins with long, dark hair worn in a long plait and dusky complexions that reminded Ranma of the people of India.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles, Ranma lunged at Ryoga and saved him from walking straight into the ice cold water.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands._"It was in his robes?"_ Ranma thought, chuckling slightly _"Hermione did all that searching for nothing!"_ Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

* * *

Catch us next time in: **Chapter four: Sorting**

There are **12 **chapters remaining in _**The Sorcerer's Stone**_!

Sorry that took so long. But don't worry, we'll try to update faster next time. I was just trying to work on my other story which will be updated soon (if my Mom skips our camping trip)

Don't forget to vote in the Poll for which House Ranma's in. Voting ends June 13th.

Thanks for all your support but could you please...Review? Sorry If it was OOC at the end, we were dead tired.

(if your wondering why the prince isn't adding stuff after me, he crashed out on my couch an hour ago) Love you all!


	4. Chapter 4: Sorting

This chapter will have A LOT of references to the original "Sorcerer's Stone" but there will be different things to, it's not wise to just skim past this chapter because you have to kind of _look_ for the differences (not really, you just have to read..) like you would the magical quill in _**Pottermore**_.

Connor: Hem Hem

Ninja: AHHHHHH! Oh, yeah. Ninja Penguin Prince changed his name to Connor Elric...why, _**why**_!

Connor: Did my mom give you coffee?

Ninja: Maaaybe.

Connor: Nice, if your reading this, _thanks Mom, _thanks _**so much **_for this _annoyingly __**hyper **_**teenage **_**girl**_!

Ninja:That wasn't nice.

Connor: -.-

Ninja: We don't own! And..um I miss counted last time and forgot to add a chapter, so not counting this chapter there are _**12 **_chapters left which I fixed last chapter...he he?

**Now time for: Chapter 4: Sorting**

The door swung open at as soon as Hagrid's fist left the door. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes and fierce-yet kind- green eyes stood there. She had a very stern and really familiar face, Ranma's first thought was that this was not someone he would want on his rapidly growing "enemies" list.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid, his gruff voice resounding off the inside walls, even though he was not inside. It took a second, but Ranma recognized the name and it clicked with how familiar she looked. This was his great-aunt. The one who told his mother about sorcery. He'd expected her to be older, she didn't appear to have one grey hair.

She appeared to be judging them on the spot, Ranma was now well aware that his pigtail was slightly crooked "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door completely open, which was a show of great strength for someone as old as she must be, as it was thick and huge. It opened to a room _"Must be an entrance hall or something"_ Ranma thought, looking at it in wonder. It was so big you could have fit over 2/3 of the Saotome's Britain house into it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, which appeared to just hang on the wall, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a giant marble staircase, which Ranma had never even heard of one being that big, that was facing them led to the upper floors.

"Whoah." Ryoga whispered, and Ranma just nodded. This was like nothing that had ever faced Japan, certain parts of China _maybe_ but not Japan.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Ranma could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall (his aunt? Maybe he should refer to her as Professor- this is confusing) showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Except Ranma, of course. Because Ranma can _never_ get nervous...right...never.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." said Professor McGonagall, her voice loud yet it seemed to take no effort. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."

Ranma _tried_ to pay attention, he really did! But he just couldn't go through all this all over again. So he found interesting things to look at while his aunt babbled on.

She was saying something about house points when Ranma began to panic. _"I thought Mom said only __**Japanese **__and __**British **__kids went here!" _He was staring at a girl slightly older than him, she had bluish-purple hair which was done in a Chinese style. She was looking intently at Professor McGonagall and looked slightly put down. Beside her was a Chinese boy who had thick glasses and long black hair. _Shampoo_! _"It's okay, she only wants to kill your girl side..."_ he thought, trying to calm down. That chick freaked him out!

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." McGonagall was saying, looking at Neville's cloak (how did he get it behind his ear?) Harry's hair, and Ron's smudged nose.

Everyone took the hint and begin adjusting their cloaks and running their fingers through their hair. A few of the girls took the time to re-adjust their ponytails. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." said Professor Mcgonagall, and she left the room. She need not have instructed them to remain quiet, for silence reigned over the room, barely interrupted by nervous whispering. Ranma quickly took down his pigtail and re-tied it, wishing he had a mirror. Ryoga was adjusting his headband, someone had helped Neville with his cloak (although no-one told Ron about his nose) and Harry was desperately smoothing down his hair.

Harry looked like he was swallowing a watermelon "H-How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Ranma heard him whisper at Ron, they were both right in front of him and Ryoga.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron responded, but he did not sound very confident, his voice was slightly shaky.

"A test!" Ryoga hissed at him "You think he's right?"

"My mom said something like that, and I heard a girl with a badge telling her younger sister about how it didn't hurt." Ranma decided to leave the 'Much' the elder sister had tacked on, he didn't want Ryoga getting lost on the way to where they were being sorted!

Ranma hadn't had a chance to practice any real magic yet, he had spent that time fighting with Ryoga! Ryoga was being quiet, it didn't appear as if he felt anymore brave then Ranma did.

Hermione, meanwhile, seemed to be taking Ron's comment as confirmation of her suspicions. She was whispering very quickly about all the spells she had learned and wondering which one she would need, completely oblivious to how her nervous monologue was making those around her equally as nervous. The blue haired girl from before was whispering very fast to a pink faced blonde girl- who had two pigtails- who was nodding and looking more nervous by each syllable. "And then she said it doesn't hurt," The blonde girl looked relieved "_Much_ Oh my Ka-God she said much!" both of the girls looked like they were going to pass out.

Shampoo was talking to the black haired guy "Shampoo no scared!" She declared, looking cocky. "Great-Great Granmutter tell Shampoo no is to worry!"

Ranma was about to tell Ryoga something, when screams of people made him turn around quickly. He and everyone around him gasped as about twenty ghosts floated into the room through the back wall; Ranma felt someone, who turned out to be Hermione, grip his arm very tightly. The ghosts all seemed not to have noticed the first years, instead focusing on an argument amongst themselves. What looked like a little fat monk was saying: "Forgive and forget I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" said a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. "He gives all of us a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost he's just– I say, what are you all doing here?"

He had just noticed everyone in the room. No one uttered a word for a second, Ranma built up some courage but was beaten to it by _her_. "We is new students, waiting to be sorted." Shampoo declared, proving her 'Shampoo no scared' bit earlier.

"Ah! New students, hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "And follow me."

Ranma got in line behind Ron. Ryoga was behind him and Harry was in front of Ron behind some sandy-haired guy.

Ranma closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath, feeling the flow of ki through his body and relaxing his muscles to release tension, helping the nervousness wane considerably. He grabbed back for the front of Ryoga's robes, the lost boy had almost walked into a wall-again. The line of first years walked out of the chamber, back across the entrance hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

It was every bit the place his mother had described and more. It was at least 10 times the size of the entrance hall and was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables (without any wax dripping down), where the rest of the students were sitting.

These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Ranma looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." So did he, but he didn't go telling everyone. As much of a cool person Hermione can be, everyone's going to think she's a know-it-all if she keeps quoting books every time she see's something.

Still, it was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. He had seen places in China that did that, it was a strange country. Ryoga gave a gasp as he looked down.

Ranma quickly looked down also and saw that Professor McGonagall had silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Were they supposed to set it on fire, or pull a rabbit out of it or something?

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the it twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still he did not want to openly admit it, Ranma was quite relieved that the "test" was very simple. Ron seemed to agree with him.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" he whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." **(A.N: Anyone else see the irony here?)**

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said loudly enough for the entire hall to hear. "Abbott, Hannah!" the pink faced girl stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause -

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as the girl- Hannah- went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Ranma saw the ghost- Fat Friar- waving merrily at her.

Bone, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, Susan scuttling off to sit next to Hannah. The ghost seemed to be ecstatic, waving merrily at both new comers.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. Ranma slowly lost intrest until "Brown, Lavender" became a Gryffindor, the table on the far left exploding with the loudest cheers so far, a set of red-haired twins making cat calls.

"Chang, Mousse!" the black haired guy from before went up there, what kind of name was Mousse? It was better than Shampoo, though.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table exploded again, and Ranma was losing intrest quick. Wasn't there a way to speed this up? Oh well. Sometimes, he noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned, while Ranma cheered for her, feeling more nervous by the second. Glancing over at Harry, he noticed Harry didn't look much better, he looked worse. He seemed to be anticipating the worst.

"Hibiki, Ryoga!" Ryoga went six shades of white.

"You know you got this, don't ya'? It's nothin'." Ranma lied smoothly and Ryoga nodded, finally making it somewhere without getting lost.

The hat seemed to take it's time, finally it yelled loudly "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table on the far left exploded again, Ryoga managed to make it there and set down by Hermione.

"Kuonji, Ukyo!" U- Chan was here?

"SLYTHERIN!"

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

"Malfoy, Draco!"

The second the hat touched his-gelled up head, The hat decided "SLYTHERIN!" Which did not surpise Ranma, Draco's "Friends" had been sorted into Slytherin also.

Ranma barely noticed when others got sorted, noting that "Parkinson, Pansy" was another Slytherin, the twins "Patil, Padma" and "Patil, Parvarti" were separated, Padma went to Ravenclaw while Parvarti went to Gryffindor.

"Potter, Harry!"

As he stepped forward, the hissing of whispered conversation swept through the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

Everyone looked at Harry with intense interest. Seeming to ignore all the attention, he walked to the stool and pulled the Hat down over his eyes. The entire student body seemed poised on their tip-toes, waiting for the hat to announce the house.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled. The Gryffindor table exploded with applause and cheering. Harry looked dazed as he placed the hat back on the stool and walked to the Gryffindor table, where he was met by what looked like Ron's older brother, who shook Harry's hand vigorously. Two other boys, who also looked like brothers of Ron, were yelling "We got Potter! We got Potter!". Ranma saw Harry sit down by Ryoga and they began talking.

It was a few moments before everything calmed down enough for Professor McGonagall to continue "Shitoko, Shampoo!"

"RAVENCLAW!" Ranma's mouth fell open, _"She can barely speak English!"_

"Saotome, Ranma!"

Ranma felt his stomach lurch slightly as he stepped out of line. He thought he heard a few whispers as he picked up the hat, but he ignored them. He sat down on the stool and put on the hat.

"Hmmm, what have we here?" the Hat said in his ear. "Loyalty, hard-work, honor...pride? A need to prove yourself, a love for glory...Courage, lots of courage, indeed. Where shall I put you...you'd do well in Hufflepuff...Slytherin...or maybe Gryffindor?"

Ranma did not know if the Hat was asking him or just talking to itself. Thinking honestly and without prejudice, he thought that he would like to be around others who, like he did, thought that bravery, honor, and glory were above all else.

"Ah yes, I thought you might say that." the Hat responded, though Ranma had said nothing at all. "In that case, you'll be in GRYFFINDOR!"

Another cacophonous round of applause greeted Ranma as he removed the hat from his head and placed it on the stool. He walked over to the table, grinning widely and being clapped on the back byother Gryffindors. Hermione gave him a big smile as he sat down, in between Harry and Ryoga and across from the bushy haired girl.

The Sorting Ceremony drew to a close shortly after Ranma's sorting. "Tendo, Akane" was a Hufflepuff, "Thomas, Dean", a tall black boy, joined Gryffindor, while "Turpin, Lisa" became a new Ravenclaw. "Unryu, Akari" became a Hufflepuff, then it was Ron's turn.

He was extremely nervous when he put on the Sorting Hat but the Hat took no time in placing him in Gryffindor, much to the satisfaction of his brothers and Harry, who encouraged him to sit on his other side. Finally, "Zabini, Blaise", a tall Italian boy, was sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the Sorting Hat and stool away.

Ranma looked down at his empty gold plate, he hadn't had anything to eat on the train and was starving. Harry seemed to also be looking longingly at the plate, flushing when he saw Ranma had caught him.

Albus Dumbledore beamed at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have made happier than seeing them all there.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Ranma was not sure if the headmaster was joking, but he chuckled nonetheless. His stomach groaned with emptiness and he looked around expectantly, wondering when the food would be brought in. He heard Harry talking to one of Ron's brothers

"Is he - a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" Ranma looked down at the same moment Harry did, his mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, baskets of bread, hamburgers, mashed potatos, a strange yellow noodle thing, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

Ranma had never really got to eat that much with his father, what little he did get to eat he had to eat it before his father could.

Ranma smiled brightly and filled his plate with as much as it would hold, digging in immediately.

"Now really, Ranma!" complained Hermione as a pea hit her in the forehead. "Can't you eat a bit less disgustingly?"

"Mmmf..." Ranma took a great swallow. "Sorry Hermione." he said sheepishly. He looked around and noticed several people staring at him with a mixture of incredulity and nausea. "What?"

"I've never seen anyone eat that fast." said Ron, (and that was saying something). "Don't you need to breathe?"

"How on earth do you fit half that food in your mouth?"

"Why is a better question. It's not like it's going to disappear." said Hermione.

"Yeah, well, you've never eaten with my father." said Ranma. "If you wanted to actually eat anything on your plate, you had to eat it before he did."

Trying to save Ranma from an embarrassing situation, Ryoga looked at the twins something. "I'll make the signs, you call the cleaning company. _**Human Hoover**_!" Everyone laughed, the girl with short brown hair from earlier smirked at Ryoga.

"Sorry kid, if anyone's making money around here it's usually me and these guys." Ranma realized something, while everybody Else's uniforms were red and gold, hers were silver and green. She was a Slytherin.

"Why are you over here?" Hermione asked, noticing it too "Your robes are silver and green, I read in _Hogwarts a History_ that Silver and green were Slytherin colors. Why are you wearing them?"

The girl smirked at her "Because I _**am**_ a Slytherin, I have special permission to sit over here with you lions. Nabiki Tendo, at your service." Nabiki smirked, she was sitting in between the Weasley twins, the boy with dread locks from earlier was smiling at her.

"If it weren't for Nabiki, I wouldn't have charge for my spider seeings, she's a miracle worker."

He continued to eat, now at a more reasonable pace, and listened in on conversations. He overheard Harry and Ron talking to a ghost who called himself Sir Nicolas De Mimsey Porpington, though Ron insisted on calling him "Nearly Headless Nick". The reason for the name was simple enough, for the ghost's head was very nearly cut off, but for a small bit of sinew and muscle keeping it attached to his body. He demonstrated this fact with a bit of a flourish and satisfaction at the looks of horror it produced in the new students.

"So – new Gryffindors!" Nearly Headless Nick said to them. "I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors has never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."

Ranma and the others turned to look at the Slytherin table where they saw a ghost sitting next to Malfoy. He a gaunt face, blank, staring eyes, and was wearing robes stained with silvery blood. Ranma smirked at Malfoy, who did not seem to enjoy the Baron's company.

"Puh-lease Nick! Slytherin will always dominate!" Lee sighed, and got a few _Boo's _"Hey, I wanna win too but It's not happening!"

Nabiki smirked again "Care to make a wager, two galleons a bet! Will Gryffindor win? Or will Slytherin dominate? Pays out double!" Almost everyone bet on Slytherin winning.

"The Bloody Baron, How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked." Nearly Headless Nick replied delicately.

"I can tell you, for three galleons." Nabiki said, extending her hand and then smiling when it was filled, she leaned over and whispered in Seamus' ear, who went green and stopped eating for a minute.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could (Ranma being the last one to finish eating, Ryoga finishing right before him), the remains of the food vanished from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Ranma's grin was as wide as ever and he was not the only one. Before them was an array of ice creams, tarts, pies, cakes, and puddings, all the sweet things he had liked so much but his father had not permitted because they were "not manly". Ranma piled his plate with one of everything, relishing the idea of spiting his father while eating all of his favorite things.

As they worked through the puddings, the conversation turned to everyone's family. Seamus had a witch for a mother and a Muggle for a father, though apparently his mother did not reveal her magical background until after the marriage. "Bit of a nasty shock for him." Seamus said. Everyone laughed at this.

"What about you, Neville?" Ryoga asked.

"Well, my gran brought me up, and she's a witch." said Neville. "But I didn't know I had magic until I was eight. My Great Uncle Algie accidentally dropped me from a third story window-"

"How do you accidentally drop someone from a third story window?" asked Harry incredulously.

"Well, he was always trying to scare some magic out of me, you see." Neville shrugged. "I didn't get hurt, I just bounced, and they were all really pleased. You should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

"I'm Muggle-born." said Dean simply after Neville had finished. "Been doing funny stuff all my life, never knew it was magic. How about you, Ranma?"

"I didn't know I had magic until a few weeks ago, honestly. Both my parents are magical. I've been traveling with Pop's since I was really young, training. He didn't want me ta' be 'round Mom- he thought it'd distract me, and he thought me knowing 'bout magic would too. I found out in early August, Mom nearly killed Pop's when she found out I didn't know. Mom's a muggle-born and wanted me to be raised with magic, I'm actually related to McGonagall."

Everyone glanced at him "What about you, Ryoga?" Hermione asked, saving Ranma from the gazes and delivering them to his bandana clad friend/rival

"I was born with magic and grew up in a magical family, when they're around. My family was cursed by a American Wizard, all Hibiki's born with a red star on their back have the curse- we get lost even in our own home, I could be talking to you and then run in a direction looking for you guys."

"Wow..."

"Hey, Saotome? Is your Mum Nodoka Saotome, the Japanese Ambassador?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Excellent! I'm Percy Weasley, by the way, fifth year, prefect." said the boy, rather self-importantly, extending his hand, which Ranma shook. "I've heard good things about your mother; youngest ambassador in a hundred years, potions mistress, former prefect. I'd be delighted to meet her sometime."

"Uh, okay." Ranma said, not sure if the older boy was just being pleasant or actually asking to meet his mother.

"Don't mind him, he's always like that with anything related to the Ministry." Ron said in a low voice. "Don't be surprised if he smarms up to you though."

"Ouch!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, clapping his hand to his forehead.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"S'wrong Harry?" Ryoga asked at the exact same time.

"N-nothing." replied Harry not-so convincingly. "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." Harry stared at the table a moment longer, Ranma following his gaze to the staff table, where it rested on the two men. One had black, greasy hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin and was wearing black robes with Silver and green trimming. The other was younger, pale-skinned, and wearing a large purple turban. He seemed, to Ranma, to have an odd kind of nervous tick. "Which one's Snape?" he asked, though he thought he could guess.

"Quirrell's got on the turban." said Harry absently, as if he were not really paying attention. Ranma had thought Snape would be the younger one, he seemed to have a dark aura around him.

"What's wrong with Quirrel?" asked Ron, seeing the man flinch a bit. "Is he all right in the head?"

"Hagrid reckons he had a bad run-in with a vampire or something." Harry replied, looking thoughtfully at the teacher. "Now he's nervous all the time." For a split second he thought he saw an odd glowing aura around the Defense teacher's head but, when he blinked, it was gone. Shaking his head, Ranma returned to his mound of puddings and promptly forgot about it.

Finally, the puddings disappeared and Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet again. The hall fell silent. "Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins and Nabiki, who smiled right back at him.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

A few people laughed, but Ranma refrained, feeling certain, from Dumbledore's tone and his slightly admonishing look, that the headmaster was not joking. "He's not serious?" he heard Harry say to Percy.

"Must be. It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." Percy said, sounding personally affronted.

Before they were dismissed, the headmaster directed them in the Hogwarts school song, whose slightly silly lyrics and lack of any real music (Dumbledore had let them choose their own tunes and tempos) had more than a few people chuckling and giggling.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here." said Dumbledore fondly after the Weasley twins had finished their slow, funeral dirge variation, Nabiki laughing at them. "And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Ranma's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too tired even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Ranma was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

Ranma suddenly heard Percy yell "Look out!", snapping him out of his half-sleeping walk and putting him on alert. It was not fast enough, however, and the next moment he was almost drenched with ice cold water, Ryoga pushing him to the side. "What the-" Ranma spluttered, looking down and seeing a pile of robes and clothes, with a small black piglet in them. Ignoring everyone else (who was dealing with the source of water) he reached into his robe pockets and pulled out a thermos, pouring it over the small pig, and abruptly standing up and looking for the water-thrower.

A little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth was floating in mid-air and clutching the handle of the bucket. "Oooh! Ickle firsties need a bath! Should get the lot of them!" he said with an evil cackle.

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked, Ranma punching up a hand and sending him flying and looking around for who did it.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. Ryoga popped up, slightly blushing and fully dressed, robes a little disheaveled.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - they found their beds at last: several four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up and were at the end of each one. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.

"Great food, isn't it?" Ranma hear Ron mutter to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."

Ranma stayed up and motiened for Ryoga to do the same, once everyone had falled asleep he went through Ryoga's hangings and into his bed.

"*****Your cursed form is a piglet?*****" he whispered in Japanese, glancing at the still-bandana-clad boy. Did he ever take it off?

"*****Yeah, and since you know mine, tell me yours, Ranma!*****" Ryoga snapped/whispered back.

"*****I turn into a girl.*****"

"*****Oh, well, you could always say that when your a chick or something your Ranma's sister 'Ranka or...Rinma...or..*****"

"*****Ranko? I like that, I think I have a book where two people had our curses! We can start researching soon!What about your pig curse, someone will pick you up unless they know your you.*****"

"*****How about I deal with that and we talk in the morning, I'm tired.*****" Ranma nodded and crawled back into his bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow, not even having a chance to do his nightly excersizes.

There yah go! Only **11** chapters in the **_sorcerer's__ stone_** left!PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. I AM SO SORRY!

Sorry Guy's, I'm discontinuing this story, or at least putting it on Hiatus. Connor said he'd pick it up sometime soon, but he's got too much on his plate right now.

Really, _really_ sorry! Please don't flame me and please read my other stuff. I feel like the people I usually hate for doing this so please, oh god _**PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!**  
_And sorry if this got your hopes up, it's just lack of inspiration I guess.

And so Fanfiction doesn't take this down…

* * *

Ranma and Harry angrily chased Ninja Penguin Princess for abandoning her.

"GET BACK HERE!" Harry yelled, waving his wand madly, suddenly they were all eaten by a giant pancake out for revenge.

* * *

The End.


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